Owwie. ((Rhi 'n Mia))

[Anonymous]

The voyage back had been swift, even faster than Marshal had believed the ships engines capable of. Evidently the dragons were quite concerned about recent events, enough so that they would use telepathy, at a level he could barely conceive, to actually move the ship faster.

He stood in his home, a nice apartment on the seventh floor, of the Citadel. Block D, to be precise. He’s chosen to live here because the view from Block D was the single worst out of all the housing in the Citadel. It was meant to encourage him to get out more.

Right now however his personal terminal was exactly where he needed to be. It had a Seeker’s almost unlimited access level, the only hidden files being those hidden by the dragons themselves. The screen was large, curving around him to allow full access without unnecessary movement. At the moment it had several windows open, one displaying the classified report on the death of Providence, one scrolling slowly through pilot personal files, and one with The Sylph Report open. He scowled at that. Filthy Gospel trash, nothing but propaganda and lies. A trace was running on it, constantly, but as the traitor had himself stated the broadcast was being relayed through varying relay nodes, making I almost impossible to track.

Rubbing his temples, Marshal sighed. That morning he had underwent probing for the second time, the first being when he became a Seeker and was probed for traitorous thoughts. He’d much rather have been on the Cancer right now, examining the relay there and trying to trace the source one step further back, but of course he’d had to come here first. Actually, come to think of it he wasn’t sure if they were allowed to leave Haviah yet, not that he was in any condition to be on a noisy, bright spaceship at the moment. Marshal swallowed. Probing was not a pleasant experience, not in the least. The process had left him useless for almost a week last time. This time, even having gone in knowing what to expect, his reacting was no less severe.

Tapping his foot impatiently he read the report again. Electromagnetic device, found in the dragons’ foreleg, was being examined by the tech specialists. That didn’t explain much.

He touched Ao Guang’s mind. Do we know anything more yet?

The dragons’ response was swift. No.

Marshal slammed his fist down on the desk. He didn’t even know where his dragon was exactly, he’d been hiding his position all morning. In fact, since the recall Ao Guang had been…distant, secretive. It was strange, the dragon usually didn’t care for secrets.

He waved a mental hand at the controls of the screen, making the personal files jump to a specific file, and flinched. Any psychic exertion was causing him great pain.

Elijah Lyre. The file listed the mans name, age, height, weight and gender, but most of that was useless. If he were Elijah Lyre, by now he’d be Candy, the five foot two blonde who works at the local bar and is known for her generous bust. Dragons did not give up in a hunt, not ever. They may bide their time, but they never gave up.

He leant on the large metal desk in the middle of the room and gazed at the screen, floating there in mid air, projected from the ceiling. His eyes blurred. Damn probing.

He was quite comfortable in his long sleeved mauve shirt and black pants, or he should have been. Something itched at the back of his mind, like a task forgotten or an avenue he should have explored, even more annoying that the throbbing pain centred at his right temple. He was missing something, something important. How did they get that device onto Providence? Was it planted there before or fired from some sort of gun and activated upon impact? If it was planted, the question had to be, “Who has that kind of access to a dragon other than its own pilot?” The last part he said aloud, hoping that airing the thought might add clarity.

It did not. In fact, all it did was make his ears ring.

There were potentially hundreds. Maintenance crew would be the first ones to look into. They had the direct contact required and were often of low level security clearance.

A beeping alarm sent daggers through his brain.

11:55

His candidate, Arrow Archer, should be coming any time now. He wasn’t looking forward to training her as much as he had been, what with the time this disaster would take up for him, not to mention that he was in pain and very frustrated. Still, perhaps having someone to vent at would be good for him, especially after the Axis Point probing.

Marshal triggered the door to automatically open when anyone knocked, sending yet anther searing wave through the psychic node of his brain. He assumed she would have the sense to knock, from her email she didn’t seem like a total idiot. Unlike one of Roman’s candidates.

He laughed as he thought of Col Savage’s attempt at a blog, the laugh turning into a pained gasping. He’d have to order Arrow to do the same, if only for the potential amusement.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Arrow knew she'd have to meet her mentor one day, but the day came a bit too soon. Of course, even if it was years down the road that she met him, it would still probably be too soon. She didn't feel prepared, but what could prepare her for something like this? So far, her experience with Pilots had been terrifying, and even though she'd never met Marshal, she'd gotten his messages and those alone had made her stomach want to tie itself in a knot of dread.

This latest message was no exception.

Come alone, it said. At noon, it said. The Citadel, it said.

Three worries all rolled up into one. The thought of going to his room alone after what he'd said about Roman sent her into a panic--a controlled panic, but a panic nonetheless--but after what she'd witnessed on orientation day, there was no way she was going to disobey, either. No matter what happened, one thing she'd learned and taken to heart was that whatever happened, the alternative was always worse, so she'd swallowed her fear, crawled out of bed, and gotten ready with every nerve on edge, shaking hands, and little to no appetite. Three bites of breakfast was all she managed to swallow down before she gave up, but it was okay.

That just meant she had more time to figure out where she was going, and she didn't want to be late.

Being late was her second fear. Arrow, message in hand, raced through the halls of the ATC and met with a small escort, just some ordinary soldiers, that took her to the Citadel. Didn't want the little Gracies fleeing or anything, and it was a safety issue, as well. Once she was inside and had been properly screened, though...she was on her own. She had her letter, and it wasn't like she could go anywhere she wasn't supposed to go unless she was properly cleared, and security was tight. There were Pilots everywhere, but unlike the halls of the ATC, which were noisy with peoples' random thoughts, the Citadel was quiet.

Eerily quiet...

Arrow was panting and out of breath by the time she got to the proper level (after finally dredging up the courage to beg someone for help) and a quick look at the watch on her wrist showed 11:57. Oh man! Block D! Where was Block D?! She took off running again, sneakers thumping on the floor. Breathing was starting to get more difficult, her chest and throat were feeling tight, and she fought to control herself. Oh no, oh no, oh no, if she was late...!

So in a hurry, she almost passed up the suite completely and she had to skid to a stop and turn back around--or try to. Her shoes slipped, and she fell, yelping as she banged up both knees though she managed to catch herself on her hands and save her face. She didn't let that stop her. She scrambled to her feet, almost slipped again, and raced back. Please, please, please, lemme make it, don't turn 12:00, please!

The door came within lunging distance, and Arrow threw herself at it. Her hands collided with the door shortly before the rest of her body hit it with a thud, and she banged frantically on the door.

Which abruptly opened.

She almost fell right through it, but some deity apparently decided to have mercy on her because she stumbled and managed to catch herself and stand in the doorway, chest heaving, face red from exertion, and knees aching.

She dared another look at her watch.

12:00.

She'd made it, and not a second too soon. Looked like Marshal--that man was Marshal, right?--was prepared.

"H...hi...y-you...you must be Muh...Marshal. Sir," she panted, slumping forward and resting her hands on her thighs, knees bent as she caught her breath. "S-sorry...I came as fa...fast as I could...sir." Drawing another deep breath, she raised her head, short black hair sticking to her forehead in places as she looked at him with bright blue eyes. Then she jumped and straightened, forcing a tired salute. "Oh! Right...Arrow...Arr ow Archer, sir. You called me." At least she had an excuse to have a shaky voice, breathless as she was. It didn't make her sound as nervous as she would have sounded otherwise.

[Anonymous]

With a resigned sigh Marshal switched his floating screen to recognise hand gestures, allowing him to stop torturing his brain quite so much. Gesturing didn’t work quite as well as direct psychic control, it wasn’t as intuitive.

A jab at the screen brought up candidate profiles. Arrow Archer was, naturally, at the top. That was good and convenient. He hadn’t considered the alphabetic advantage when he’d selected her. Hell, the thought process hadn’t been all that deep. He saw a funny name, and then saw that she was young, mouldable, and rather cute. Perfect.

A loud thud heralded the arrival of his new student; either that or a particularly stupid bird had lost its sense of direction and hit his door.

The banging seemed to indicate that it was her, but then again, it might have been a flock of particularly stupid birds. The annoyance of not being able to simply feel her mind was irritating. He would have normally been watching for her, following her as she approached so as to know if she was going to be late, and thus prepare punishment. Luckily for young Arrow, she was not late. Right on time, as a matter of fact. No sooner did she fall through his doorway as did his screens clock beep to signal the arrival of noon.

He waited patiently for her to finish attempting to be proper. Then waited some more, allowing the silence to sink in. He locked his eyes on hers, not blinking, not moving. After an extended pause he looked away and strode calmly to the side of his desk closer to her, where he leaned back against it. A flick at the screen sent all the other windows whizzing away, leaving only a large portrait of Arrow and her personal details on screen.

“Candidate Arrow Archer,” he began in a quiet, yet commanding tone, “Sixteen, eyes: blue, hair: black, height: five three, species: human, gender: female.” He paused again, shifting a little and looking her up and down. “It may seem strange to you, that I note these things, but I assure you it is prudent. Why, I may have made a mistake myself if I had not been informed of your gender.” He allowed himself a small smirk. “I, as you have correctly assumed, am Marshal Richards, and I will be overseeing the duration of your training. How long that duration is in entirely up to you. There is no need for the salute or the ‘sir’, not yet anyway. You are one of the very rare few who I take on as my students, and let me assure you now; you have done nothing to earn this privilege. Simply put, you have a funny name. It may amuse me for a while.”

He paused for effect.

“Now, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have been a pilot for longer than you’re been alive. You were still nothing but an un-released orgasm when I stood in your current position, wondering if I was going to die. I work on simple terms, in the beginning you will be given privileges, such as the right to call me by my first name, the right to wear clothes, the right to say no, however these rights will be removed. You may not even have done anything wrong. Let me tell you now that simply doing what you are told it not enough to become a pilot. A pilot requires instinct, cunning, daring. Everything is potentially a test, and sometimes the test requires you to defy me, it is up to you to make the judgement call as to when hose situations are. You report to me, first and foremost. Any instruction given by me overrides any given by another pilot. If they have a problem with that, direct them to me. That said, Roman has as much authority as I do, and while he may restrain himself out of courtesy, I cannot guarantee anything.

On a different note, I should warn you about a few pilots. I understand you have already met Dyerlich and Roman, so they should require no further explanation. Stay away from Gabriel Tierney. If I find out you have spoken so much as a syllable to the man, and I will find out, you will be punished. Also…stay away from Seiteki Tora. She’s got blue hair and grey wings, can’t miss her. She eats candidates, quite literally, and I’d rather not be blamed for losing another one. She may act nice, but it’s just to lure in her food. Don’t believe a word she says.”

There, that should keep her away from the pilot’s he didn’t want her mingling with. He had no real problem with Gabriel, he just didn’t want him whinging all over his new candidate. And Seiteki… it was more of a stab at her really. Might be good for a laugh later.

“Now,” he stood up and walked up to her, until he was looking down to meet her eyes, “In a moment I am going to ask you to undress. Before I do I would like to give you the only honest assurance you will receive. I will not rape you. Others might, but you are safe from me in that regard and that regard only. Now, do you have any questions or anything to say before we begin?”

[Anonymous]

The Citadel was surprisingly quiet; if Setrul had been there he’s probably be shouting random stupid things just to hear it echo off the walls. Farica however was much more sensible than her partner…Well not really partners now since their ship had been pretty much destroyed and they’d been brought here. Damn Latona, she hoped the bitch would rot in hell.

     However she was the only pilot who didn’t look at her like she might explode at any minute. She suspected this was because of her quite literal explosion of power that had short-circuited the Teigrin and made Setrul into a psychic. But it wasn’t her fault she had shorted, and that had never happened before. It they were that concerned; then they should just let her go. She knew that wasn’t going to happen though.

     Getting into the Citadel had been irritating, first she had to find an escort just to make sure she went there, then she had to be screened, which for her probably took longer than usual. She was supposed to get there for 12:00 and she was already late, if her mentor wasn’t happy, then tough. She hadn’t asked to be here and it wasn’t her fault all the pilots were paranoid.

     She got into an elevator and slouched against the side. She’d probably have to behave when she finally got there, who knew what the pilots would do. Look how Latona had dragged them in so unceremoniously. But the other pilots did seem to be annoyed at the winged pilot, so that was some compensation.

     When it reached the correct level Farica leisurely stepped out and began heading down the corridor. She was already late so why rush. Besides she did not want to be here. Eventually she reached the correct room.

     “Should I knock?” she thought.

     He’d probably find it rude if she just walked in…So she knocked.

     Hopefully he wouldn’t have a stick up his arse and punish her whether she was polite or not…

[Rhi-Rhi]

She waited, standing at attention and staring intently at Marshal, every muscle wound tense with the desire to flee. When the Pilot didn't say anything she started to want to squirm under his unyielding gaze, wanted to avert her eyes, but she didn't dare, nor did she dare move her arm even though it started to ache from holding it like that. Sweat started to bead at her temples as a million frantic thoughts raced through her head, like that she'd done something wrong or any number of things and that she was going to get punished and...and...

Finally he moved, and it was an effort not to shrink back as he drew closer, but it was only so he could lean against the desk and speak.

Arrow listened. She hung onto every word, rooted to the spot, wincing at his quip at her gender and not even wanting to risk looking at the screen. When he told her there was no need to salute or anything she finally lowered her arm, which felt a little stiff, and shifted from one leg to the other, swallowing. That change in position didn't make much of a difference because she was still as motionless and rigid, and when he told her that the only reason he picked her was because she had a funny name, that it might amuse him for 'a while'...right then and there she wondered if she was going to die. If she was going to end up in TRIM.

But she stayed completely silent even though she started to shake a little as he went on, not so much telling anything about himself as he was giving her instructions and explaining some very, very disturbing things. Right to wear clothes? Going to take them away? Her blue eyes widened but she kept her mouth shut. How...how was she going to know when to disobey or obey? Would she get punished for disobeying--even if she was supposed to disobey? Her head swam, growing more and more confused, but her only response was to give little nods where it seemed appropriate, just to let him know she was still listening.

Staying away from the other Pilots, though...that could be tricky, she didn't know what they looked like! Okay, Seiteki had wings and ate people? Er...guess the wings would make her stand out. The other one, though, she just got a name. Panic struck for a second before she reasoned that she could...just ask someone?

Yeah, that's what she'd--herk.

That was when he told her he was going to ask her to undress.

The blood drained from Arrow's face and every muscle went tense. Even though he assured her he wouldn't rape her, just the fact that he had to assure her he wouldn't do that sent off warning bells in her head. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind until he said that, and just the thought was enough to send cold shivers down her spine. And others might?! Wasn't that...not allowed...? She'd heard rumors about a Pilot that liked to get cozy with a lot of the female candidates but she hadn't stuck around to catch the name, mainly because the girls doing the gossiping had picked on her before, but...

She wrapped her arms around herself as though for protection and ducked her head, trying to make herself small. Her throat felt horribly tight so she only shook her head to say that she had no questions--and even if she did she wouldn't have been able to choke them out. Nope. No questions. She understood, even though the upspoken order made her want to cry. Get naked in front of a complete stranger, a scary older man...she shuddered and thought of Val, the sight of his bloodied, mangled legs flashing though her head and making her want to lose those three bites of breakfast.

That was motivation enough.

There was nothing she could do. He asked her to strip and she'd do it in a heartbeat to avoid something much, much worse. Orientation had taught her that much and...wait, oh, she did have a question, that was right.

Arrow flexed her fingers, rubbing her palms on her thighs to dry them off. "Y-yes sir, ah...what...what does Gabriel look like, sir? You told me what Seiteki looks like, but not what he does." She swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. "Sir..."

A sudden knocking at the door made her jump and give a little yelp, and she turned and looked before she snapped her attention back onto Marshal. Oh no...she wasn't going to have to do this in front of other people, was she? Her heart thumped in her chest, breathing a bit more harsh than normal. She just wanted to go home.

[Anonymous]

He couldn’t help but smile. Good, she’d reacted just as he’d hoped, with no screaming, no fuss, just acceptance. Ah, clever girl.

“Right you are Arrow, right you are. Gabriel is a tallish blonde man with green eyes; you’ll recognise him from his overbearingly nice attitude and tendency to suck on cocks.”

He tilted his head at her. She’d been just about to ask another question, when there was a knock at the door. He’d set it up earlier, so it slid open silently to admit his other candidate.

“Enter, Candidate Vogel,” he said sternly to Farica. Idiot girl, standing there like that. Even Arrow had had the good sense to come in and introduce herself. “Stand next to Arrow.”

He stood back up, looking down at Arrow for a moment before moving his gaze to Farica. She was his height, so he looked her straight in the eyes. “I am Marshal Richards, Pilot Noble. I will be mentoring you both. I understand that you did not attend the orientation class Farica, and as such you were unfortunate enough to miss the little demonstration Pilot Rosales gave. Arrow, you are likely thinking at this point that she was lucky not to have seen it, but not so. You see Farica, what Arrow here learned from that you did not, so while she will escape today unscathed, unless you behave, you will not.”

He spun and walked back around his desk. From a drawer he produced a needle pen. After rolling up a sleeve he pressed the pens tip to his skin and pushed the little button in its side, causing a tiny needle to stab into him and send a high dose of painkillers into his bloodstream. He winced a little as it did. Damn things stung like a bitch.

Rolling his sleeve back down and returning the pen, he said to them, “Now Farica, as I understand it you are capable of creating an electromagnetic pulse, and have a problem with generating too much psychic energy. Both of these are obviously unacceptable problems. I will be dealing with them presently, please hold still and do not attempt to resist. If I fail, you will be on TRIM within the day.”

He could already feel the drugs clearing his mind, allowing him to reach out psychically again, to feel their minds. He slipped into Farica’s mind, a tendril of thought that probed at her brain. The human brain used but a fraction of its potential, so finding the parts that controlled magic was never difficult, because they were always outside of the normal areas. He found hers quickly. She could indeed release powerful blasts, enough to take out dragons for sure. It couldn’t be allowed. He severed the neuron pathways connected to the magic controls with deft cuts, isolating it from the rest of her mind. There, now she wouldn’t be able to use it, consciously or not. But that still wasn’t good enough; pathways could reform, given time.

The brain was just a biological computer. Everything in the body had code contained in the brain for its operation, which is effectively why victims of head trauma sometimes lost control of parts of their body. The code was corrupted. What he did was far more permanent. Using his little tendril he opened up the magic control core and wiped it clean. He erased every trace of information her mind had on how to use her magic, and then went and searched through her brain, hunting out any other little pockets of it.

Once he was sure he’d gotten all of the magic, he hunted down the psychic portion of her mind. It wasn’t hard; the girl was producing energy as if she were lifting a ten kilo weight with her mind. Visualisation was the key to this, so he pictured her psychic energy as being a ball. Inside the ball energy flowed out from a central source, pushing against the shell, constantly imploding on itself and exploding at the same time, like a miniature sun. It was fascinating really, amazing how such a defective specimen was still alive. She would always be weak because of this, especially after what he was about to do.

He made a hole in the bottom of the ball, letting the excess drain out of her. There, she’d be leaving a hell of an easy to follow trail of energy behind her, but she wasn’t going to be turning anyone psychic. Of course, any second year candidate would be able to easily track her now, but it was all for the best.

The whole process had taken less than thirty seconds.

“There we go, you’re all fixed up. That went well.” He turned to Arrow and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t need to feel scared. Fear is not the purpose here. You don’t have to undress, that was just a test, you passed.” He looked at both of them. “As I explained to Arrow earlier, everything may be a test. Compliance is not always the right answer, but be prepared to accept the consequences if you think defiance is called for and you are wrong.” He stepped back, giving them a look that seemed to be measuring them up.

“Farica, I assigned Arrow some reading material, you should see that you get it off her later. Arrow, how are you coming along? Have you finished canines yet? Oh, and Farica, before we begin properly, do you have any questions?”

[Anonymous]

Farica was pleased to see when the door slid open that another candidate was there. At least she wasn’t going to be alone. They looked terrified however and as if they would be sick at any minute. That was rarely a good sign. Maybe they were naturally one of those nervous people…unlikely. Considering the stories she had heard about the pilots the chance of that being true was slim to none.

     When the man, who she assumed was her mentor, told her to stand next to the other girl who’s name seemed to be Arrow, she did without question. Given the choice she would have opted not to be there at that exact moment, but she wasn’t stupid, she was not going to piss of a pilot…particularly one who could have her sent to TRIM in a heartbeat. As bad as the ATC seemed, TRIM would be a lot worse. In her time travelling with Setrul she had encountered a few TRIM escapees and they were not the most stable and happy of people.

     He introduced himself and she couldn’t help but notice they were the same height. She was tall for a girl and some guys hated it when girls could look them straight in the eye. She’d been forced to become a pilot because of something she couldn’t control though; maybe he’d punish her because she was tall…

     “Now I’m just being paranoid,” Farica thought, “That isn’t like me, this place must be getting to me.”

     She forced her attention back to the current situation and listened to ‘Marshal’ basically admonish her for ‘not attending the orientation’ she had barely landed in Aedolis when it happened; it wasn’t as if she had deliberately not shown up. It had only been a few days ago but so much had happened in that time. She’d been forced into the pilot training program; Setrul had become a psychic and worst of all, Forever’s death. They missed her but had agreed to act natural around other people; the other candidates had enough problems as well without being burdened with their’s. They did their grieving in private.

     Farica was snapped back to reality when Marshal suddenly produced a needle from his desk. Had she done something wrong already? Or was it for Arrow? The kid seemed obedient enough, she looked too scared to dare defy him…She breathed a sigh of relief however when he injected himself. It begged the question what was wrong with him but she wasn’t going to ask. She wouldn’t care normally if it weren’t for the fact it might give her an idea of some of perils of being a pilot.    

     “Now Farica, as I understand it you are capable of creating an electromagnetic pulse, and have a problem with generating too much psychic energy. Both of these are obviously unacceptable problems. I will be dealing with them presently, please hold still and do not attempt to resist. If I fail, you will be on TRIM within the day.”

     He was going to deal with them? What was he going to do, root around in her brain…Actually it was likely that was exactly what he was going to do. If she had been able to control her ‘electromagnetic pulse’ she would be tempted to use it there and then. She wouldn’t though, partly because she couldn’t control it and partly because poor Arrow might get hurt in the process. And the idea of going to TRIM did not seem appealing…

     So she just stood still and let him do, whatever it was he was going to do and hoped it didn’t hurt. Setrul would probably be praying to the gods it didn’t but there was no such thing as gods, deities or the spiritual world. Religion was just a lie concocted to control people.

     “There we go, you’re all fixed up. That went well.”

      “That was quick,” she said unconsciously.

     She hadn’t felt a thing and whatever he had done had taken only a few seconds. She was rather curious as to how he had stopped the strange occurrences and hopefully there weren’t any serious side-effects. Well if there were she’d soon find out.

     “You don’t need to feel scared. Fear is not the purpose here. You don’t have to undress, that was just a test, you passed.”

     ‘Don’t need to undress’? That explained why she looked like she was going to be sick when Farica came in the room. At least Arrow didn’t have to do it now. Hopefully he wouldn’t ask her to strip, and if he did she wouldn’t be sure whether to do it or not…Thankfully he continued talking.

     “As I explained to Arrow earlier, everything may be a test. Compliance is not always the right answer, but be prepared to accept the consequences if you think defiance is called for and you are wrong.”

     So they were allowed to think for themselves, that was good she guessed. The only drawback was you’d be punished if he didn’t like their choice. Well considering she had expected to be punished for everything, right or wrong, being able to actually choose was nice.

     “Farica, I assigned Arrow some reading material, you should see that you get it off her later. Arrow, how are you coming along? Have you finished canines yet? Oh, and Farica, before we begin properly, do you have any questions?”

     She had a few but she wasn’t she sure what would happen if she asked them…One was bugging her quite badly…What was the worst he could do?

     “What did you do to my brain?”

     It was her brain she had a right to know.

[Rhi-Rhi]

...That was a little more information than she had asked for.

Arrow blushed darkly and swallowed, averting her eyes and staring at the ground, but regardless of that last part she committed the descriptions of both Seiteki and Gabriel to memory. Seiteki would be easy--unless there were many other gray-winged people around. Gabriel...there couldn't be just one blonde haired, green eyed nice guy around, could there? And she could understand staying away from, erm, someone who ate people (was that even allowed?!) but a nice person? Unless the whole...er...last thing he said had anything to do with--oh. What if he was a molestor or something?!

She was really starting to believe nice Pilots just didn't exist. Then again, her experience with Pilots so far had been nowhere near friendly and nothing short of terrifying.

Another girl entered the room to stand next to Arrow, but Arrow didn't really look at her. All of her attention was on Marshal, too afraid to look away as she tried to prepare herself for her fate. At least the other person in the room was a girl. That made it a little less horrific, but it didn't stop her trembling. At this point, she just wished she could get it over with. She knew what was coming and the suspense was the worst; better to just treat it like a bandaid and do it fast than to have it drawn out like this, but Marshal was more busy talking to the new candidate and sticking himself with a needle.

At least she could be assured she'd get out of here unharmed, she guessed.

As Marshal turned his attention onto Farica, Arrow only half-listened because she really didn't understand what he was talking about. Farica would go to TRIM if he messed up? Messed up what? But whatever it was that was passing between those two, it seemed to have been successful because he then announced that she was 'fixed'--and then he turned to Arrow.

Arrow jolted when he touched her shoulder and looked up at him with wide blue eyes, convinced it was now time--but then he spoke, told her not to be afraid, and that...thank Gods, she didn't have to do it. Her breath left her in a loud 'whoosh' and her tense muscles loosened, but she quickly straightened her posture when she realized she was slouching. Just a test, and she'd done the right thing. Oh man, she had a feeling she was going to be constantly stressed out at this rate since everything could be a test.

She wiped her hands off on her pants again and played with the hem of her shirt, needing to do something with her hands. He told her not to be afraid, but that was easier said than done. He was a Pilot. He held her fate in his hands. And the consequences...she couldn't help but flash back to Val whenever she heard that word.

Indeed, she did wish she hadn't been there for that, but even she knew she'd learned something valuable from being there, something Farica might not have.

"I...I'm almost done with that, sir," she answered quietly, chewing her bottom lip after. She wasn't about to lie; she knew he could read her mind. "I have about...um...ten pages left..." But she didn't feel like she'd absorbed any of it. Arrow felt like she'd been reading a bunch of words without actually seeing them or understanding what they meant. It was written in her language, but it might as well have been in some alien tongue, it was so above her reading level.

She fell silent again and stole a glance over at Farica. He brain? He'd done something to her brain?

Eek...

[Anonymous]

Poor little Arrow, she just wasn’t having a very good time. Marshal idly explored her recent memories, examining her fears, and there were a lot of them, and her perceived faults. He hadn’t really expected her to understand the texts, not without any prior training, but understanding would come with time, repetition and practice. But first thing’s first.

“Good girl. Once you’re done, I want you to read it all again.” He nodded and smiled after giving what must have seemed like a purposely mean order.

Turning to look at Farica, Marshal’s face became serious again. “Now and then human beings are born with slight mutations. This is a part of the evolutionary process; however most of these mutations are not beneficial, such as disfigured limbs or decreased brain function. You were born with a disfigurement of your psychic node making you endlessly produce psychic energy to a point where it can no longer be stored and your brain, to avoid death, releases it, causing…unfortunate side effects to those nearby. I have corrected this defect as best anyone can. You will still constantly produce energy; however it now flows directly out of you. This will make you easy to track and obviously a much weaker psychic than you could have been, but without the inherent dangers of your condition. I also removed all magical abilities, in case you should ever turn against Aedolis.” He gave pause to his dry monologue to lean in close to Farica and whisper, “And if any candidate of mine ever turned to the enemy, they would not be allowed the mercy of a swift death.”

He pulled back and smiled kindly, not showing any teeth. Now, to see if Farica had learned the lesson as well. Striding back over to his desk, Marshal produced a long knife from a drawer, then closed the distance between himself and girls and said softly, “Farica, I’m going to give you a choice now. You can either take off all your clothes and put them in a neat pile, or you can lose one of your breasts. You have thirty seconds.”

[Anonymous]

[OOC Bleh]

So her brain was mutated? Great….She was a mutant freak. At least her mentor had fixed it. It sounded like it would become annoyance in the later stages of training though. If she survived that long.

     As for him removing all her magical abilities; she didn’t have any. Not that she was aware of anyway. Then again she hadn’t known her brain could basically explode and mutate people. But still, there was no such thing as a psychic mage. It was just physically impossible.

     She flinched when the pilot leaned over and whispered something to her about not giving mercy to traitors. Did he expect her to turn traitor? She wasn’t one to take sides. Her loyalties didn’t lie with any country. And who would the enemy be? Edanith, Seruna? She was born on the Seruna but had no allegiance to anyone but herself. And possibly her co-pilot.

     After his rather cold statement he pulled back, then smiled. It was an innocuous smile, but with the sudden change in attitude, it just seemed creepy. Then he made himself scarier when he produced a long knife from the drawer of his desk. Was he going to punish her for asking what he’d done to her mind? He answered, which would suggest he didn’t mind. But maybe it was a trick….Maybe he was going to punish her for it…This place was going to make her brain melt before long.

     “Farica, I’m going to give you a choice now. You can either take off all your clothes and put them in a neat pile, or you can lose one of your breasts. You have thirty seconds.”

     What? He’d asked Arrow to do that as well, but then she didn’t have to. Would she actually have to do it or would it be enough for him to see that she would? Or adding another conundrum, it might be the type of test in which she was supposed to disagree with him. She didn’t know what the safest option would be. If she was supposed to disagree what would the punishment be if she didn’t? Argh she was running out of time.

      She decided to go with what she knew. He said he’d cut off one of her breasts if she didn’t do it. So she’d do it to avoid that. Not that she was happy about it, but it was better than the alternative.

     Farica started to unbutton her jacket and hoped that she was supposed to do what he said.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Asked to read the text all over again, Arrow slumped but managed to bite back a groan of frustration. She didn't even know what she was reading when she was reading it! And it was torture to get through, with so many words she didn't even know how to pronounce, much less what they meant. She didn't say any of that, though, just stared down at her feet and nodded glumly, and she listened in as Marshal explained the brain stuff to Farica.

Arrow didn't really understand that, either, except that Farica had apparently been defective and Marshal had fixed it somehow.

She didn't catch the words Marshal whispered to the other girl, but she did hear his order, loud and clear, and her eyes widened and her face paled when the man pulled out a long bladed knife and gave Farica her order. Oh. My. God. Her attention snapped over to Farica as she watched the girl unblinking, hoping she'd do it. Arrow hadn't seen her at orientation so she knew the girl had missed the demonstration that had proven to Arrow that whatever a Pilot said--they were serious about it. If he said strip or I cut off a breast, she had better strip or be prepared to loose a boob and Arrow didn't want to witness it if it happened.

Fortunately, Farica seemed to get it and started to undo her jacket, but she was going so slow.

And while Arrow was shy as can be, if Marshal gave her that same order she would have ripped her clothes off so fast your head would spin.

"Hurry," she whispered, scared for the other girl.

[Anonymous]

He followed the flow of her thoughts, interpreting the chemical impulses and interpreting them into words and feelings. The mind did it automatically, like a computer reading script it was familiar with. He could feel her hesitation, which was only natural, and hear her deliberating whether or not to go through with it.

But, despite her beginning to undress, that simply wasn’t good enough. She was still hoping, deep down, that by starting to undress she would prove her willingness to comply and be let off the hook like Arrow. Farica and Arrow, however, were two very different human beings.

In Arrow he could feel the fear, feel the respect, feel that she’d learnt this lesson already in her first lesson and he could hear her total willingness to do whatever he said even now. Farica on the other hand had not learnt that lesson, and while he was certain she was going to undress and not face the punishment, he needed to work into her exactly why she was doing it. That was the difference between this lesson and Roman’s little display with the sledgehammer. His lesson was intended to teach Val and send a message to the other candidates, that you obey not because you’ve been threatened, but because that threat was always looming. If he wanted to keep his candidate mostly in tact however, he needed to take this approach, wherein she had to get past the immediate threat and understand why she was doing it.

Delving into her mind, Marshal found the part that controlled her nervous system, and dulled her lest breast. With a quick jab he sliced through material and flesh, leaving a deep, yet overall quite small wound. He crossed his arms, keeping the knife held safely away from himself, and watched the blood slowly seep out, forming a little stain on her shirt. Once she’d had time to register what had happened, he removed the block on her mind, letting her suddenly feel the wound.

“Not fast enough Farica,” he snapped, mouth twisted into a frown. Now came the crux of It all, to see if she would decide that was it and stop, or finish the task he had given her.

[Anonymous]

[OOC Short >.<]

Farica was a little unnerved when the other girl told her to hurry. It seemed her advice was well founded however when her mentor suddenly stabbed her with the knife…What was scarier was she hadn’t even felt it. Not immediately anyway, first she noticed the blood and then the pain kicked in.

     “Not fast enough Farica,”

     ….So she was supposed to not just obey, but obey quickly. Alright then…Ignoring the wound she started undressing as fast as she humanly could. She wasn’t sure if he really would have cut her breast off but not finding out seemed like a good idea. As much as she didn’t want to be naked in front of this guy she suspected he’d seen other naked candidates and she was rather attached to her breasts.

     Finally she removed her last item of clothing, her panties and hoped that would be good enough.