Training (Rhi)

[Anonymous]

Ah candidates. He loved them for creating a distraction from his work, and he hated them for distracting him from it. Technically he could be ignoring them, he supposed. They were only stage one after all.

Still, if they wanted to succeed they needed to learn fast. He understood why there wasn’t much psychic training early on, but he didn’t follow that rule of thumb with his own protégés. If they were capable of some basic psychic manipulation it may be the difference between a pass and a fail, so it was worth his extra effort.

And if they failed he’d personally ensure they got a particularly nasty doctor in TRIM.

Dressed in his pilot’s uniform with a canary yellow jacket over the top, Marshal walked briskly to Rachel Tierney’s room. In his arms he cradled two kittens, one white and one black, subdued by a psychic tendril keeping them asleep. Not that the tiny balls of fur needed much prompting, from what he had seen since he bought them yesterday.

A flick of mental power opened the door to Rachel’s room without him needing to use his hands. Both had finished classes for the day, so Arrow should be here as well. Knowing her, if he’d asked her to be in two places at once, she would have managed that too.

“Good afternoon girls,” he announced, stepping inside, “I hope you’re not too tired from the day’s lessons, as there is much more to come.” A twisted grin touched his mouth for a moment, recalling his own long days as a candidate. This was not going to be fun for them, not one bit.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Both Rachel and Arrow looked up when Marshal stepped inside, both seated on Rachel's bed. Rachel looked tired but collected, dressed in her uniform with her blonde hair swept back into a ponytail. She had cleaned up after getting through with the day's drills, so as not to attend classes all stinky--unlike Arrow whose black hair was still oily from sweat and who looked like she wanted nothing more than to just pass out and take a nap. Five AM was doing a number on her. Rachel, on the other hand, was used to rising early; she had been working as a barista before she had been drafted.

Didn't make the drills any less difficult, exhausting, or painful, though. Her legs and arms ached.

Tired or not, Arrow might as well have been pumped full of caffeine by the way she leaped to her feet as soon as she registered it was Marshal, and despite her exhaustion she pulled off a neat salute and then stood at attention, back straight as a board. With a yawn, Rachel stretched and followed a few seconds behind Arrow, climbing stiffly to her feet and giving a lazy salute once she was upright. "Oh joy and jubilation," she said, words tapering off into a yawn, which she covered with the same hand she'd used to salute. "Nope, not tired at--hey, what's with the cats?"

It was then that she noticed them, the little sleeping kittens in Marshal's arms. Arrow had noticed them right away and had her eyes fixed on them, though she looked anything but thrilled. Rachel arched an eyebrow at her. Girl looked freaked, a little pale and wide-eyed. Was she scared of cats or something?

Arrow spoke then, and it all became clear.

"They're okay, aren't they, sir?" she asked, staring at the kittens.

Marshal's twisted grin was kind of unsettling.

[Anonymous]

His grin could do nothing but widen. If only they knew...well, when the time came they'd realise. Realise the importance of this lesson, just as he had.

"They're quite fine Archer, just sleeping."

Marshal paused, watching their reactions. Rachel was confused, intrigued even, while Arrow was concerned for them. Her empathy was a trait that made her oddly perfect for the kind of mental penetration he wanted to shape them for.

"Many pilots are of the belief that candidates should not be psychically trained during there grace period. I do not agree. As such, you will be beginning basic training in the art of mental penetration and control. With the studies I assigned you should already have a grasp of the simply workings of the brain. The cat's, are for practice."

Extending an arm towards each of them, Marshal held out the kittens. The white, for Rachel, looked at her once with a bored expression before falling back to sleep, slumped in Marshal's hand. The black, for Arrow, yawned and looked at her with curious eyes.

"You will be expected to care for them, as well as attempting to control them. It's far easier to control an animal than a human, especially one with an attachment to you."