A Pilot in Teinar. [Tal/open!]

[Tally]

The Pilot smiled at Cyrus's reaction, and even stayed in the man's head awhile longer, listening in on his thoughts.

Ayn, a psychic.  Brilliant.  Let her come.  Something in him—pride maybe—found the idea of crushing a lesser psychic to be delicious.  It was the audacity of them that got his ire up.  The audacity of thinking they could bring in a psychic to read him.  As though he would even allow such a thing!  They could torture his body.  His mind was untouchable.

Cyrus drew closer, and Temple pulled back into his own mind and closed his eyes.  A wave of exhaustion had come over him.  Too much, too soon.  The fall—

—thin cold air whistling past him.  Silver metal, clouds, death.  Providence.

His eyes slammed open and a tremor swept through him.  Deftly he turned his thoughts elsewhere, anywhere, scattering his consciousness down a dozen different paths to avoid the memory.  A dark and devouring emptiness awaited him there.  He had no idea what had happened, where he had fallen from or why.  Didn't want to know.  The knowledge would break him, and from that truth there would be no healing.

Something's missing.  He felt as though he were still falling, unsupported when he should have been born up through the air by a pair of vast, white wings.  I've lost something, and I can never know what it is.  Don't ask, don't remember.  Not ever.  I can never know.

He stared at the ceiling.  Many minds came up around him, surrounded him.  They were a nice distraction.  He ignored the voices clamoring from the cells on either side of him and picked up instead their internal dialogue.  It was sharp with frustration, anger, violence.  He learned of their crimes, some worse than others, and read Niko's intention before the act.  There were no surprises for a psychic, not among mundane folk.

Though there was something to be said for respecting the privacy of others, especially when those others held you in captivity, so as Kimi wheeled him into the room with Cyrus, Temple withdrew once more back inside his own head, blocking out even their surface thoughts this time.  His tired eyes, half-hooded, found Cyrus and looked up at him through long black lashes.  The fight was draining from him and faster than he would have hoped.  Damn.  He was so tired.

"Are you going to begin?" he asked Cyrus, resigned to whatever came, "Or will you wait for Ayn?"

[Anonymous]

The call she had gotten that day was definately one she had not been expecting. She had been in her shop and usually the only calls that she got were ones...well asking things about her shop and that as it. So to say she was not thrown off by the call she had received from...Cyrus...she believed was his name, would be lying. Being asked to help out with a prisoner issue was not expected either. Especially considering she was probably not one of the more experienced psychics in Teinar. She was fairly skilled in those abilities but her other more natural abilities reigned dominant. Then again..why would he need a psychic for a prisoner problem? She hadn't asked...and then still...she hadn't refused to help out but that was pretty much the man had almost begged her to help. She'd feel bad if she didn't.

That led up to where she was now, at the prison that Cyrus had indicated she needed to meet him at. It took a bit because she was of course never so there was a bit of hesitation and then there was the probably of finding some form of shoes. Normally in her shop and just outside her shop she walked around in her striped stockings. Because of that she didn't exactly have many pairs of shoes. The ones she did have were sandals of different styles. She didn't deem them appropriate to wear but in the end it was all she could find and it probably wouldn't be best to keep Cyrus waiting too long.

As she walked into the prison, her little pixie wings twitched a little out of nervousness. Being her human size of course caused them to be smaller than normal and hidden by her hair so it wasn't like anyone else knew they were there. It wasn't that that made her nervous though. Ayn had never really set foot inside or near the prison before and it was a bit nerve wracking. That and she was sort of used to keeping her mind open to thoughts of her customers and things so that she could better help them out..that wasn't such a good thing here. The thoughts she got from the various prisoners disturbed her a bit and caused her to quicken her pace a bit.

Ayn stopped listening to the various thoughts soon after she started getting them. They were just too much to listen to at the moment.

Upon arriving at the set location, Ayn glanced at the people there. A woman...not Cyrus...he definately didn't sound like a girl on the phone...A male on a stretcher...That just didn't seem like him either. He was probably the prisoner Cyrus spoke about. She was definately glad that she had closed off her mind then...being closer to a prisoner would probably bring out more...unwanted thoughts he had for her to find out about. The ones she had gotten from the others were enough...she didn't need or want anymore of those kinds of things. But besides that, that left only one other in the room. She looked at Cyrus, tilting her head a little. "Mr. Amadori, I presume?"

[Rhi-Rhi]

Cyrus rolled his eyes at Kimi and grumbled, "He's a Pilot, not an egg." Honestly, acting like bumping him against something would break him? The guy had survived one hell of a crash and he was doing just fine now. Damned women and their nurturing instincts. Next thing you know and she'd want to get him a blanket and tuck him into his cell.

By the time Kimi started wheeling the Pilot inside, Cyrus was already with the warden and pacing near an open cell in the very back of the prison in a separate room cut off from the rest. The Pilot wouldn't be with the rest of the prisoners--it would be way too dangerous for them and anyone else, too. It was solitary confinement for him, and unlike the other cells this one was closed in completely, save for a small, thick window and a slot through which food could be delivered.

Kimi was sure taking her time, and when the other prisoners started cat-calling and wolf-whistling, he just snorted and watched. Good gods. That was the other problem with woman partners, you just couldn't take them anywhere--

WHAM! If Cyrus had blinked he would have missed it, but no, he saw everything, saw Kimi slam her fist into one prisoner's face and that guy sure didn't get back up. He blinked several times as though to make sure he'd actually witnessed that, then eyed Kimi as though seeing her in a new light even as she shouted and blushed. Huh. Well then.

For the first time since he'd met her--which, granted, hadn't been very long--he felt a little respect creep in. If there was one thing he hated and didn't tolerate from anyone, man or woman or whatever, it was doormats. Everyone had to pull their own weight in these parts and he especially expected anyone he worked with to know how to defend themselves. Seeing Kimi put that jerk in his place...yeah, he could definitely respect that.

He wiped the smile off his face and stepped out of the way when Kimi finally came up and rolled the Pilot into the cell. "You're lucky an ass grab is all ya got. Walk in the center next time or you're askin' for it," he told her, then sighed when his question got a negative response. Looking from her to the Pilot, he shot the man a flat look. "Of course he does. Anyway, no, not yet, I gotta wait for Ayn and Connngh..."

Cyrus froze, a little unpleasant shiver coursing down his spine when he realized that he'd never mentioned Ayn. To anyone. Well, except over the phone, so the bastard had been in his head again. Goddammit, that...that was going to be a problem, but all the more reason to drag as much information out of him as they could and then get rid of him. It was too risky, way too risky keeping him around. If he could read minds, who knew what he already knew.

If he escaped...

Cyrus shivered again. Squeeze info out of him, then get rid of him. That was all there was to it.

Stepping into the cell, which was more spacious than the others, Cyrus prodded the Pilot's arm. "Stay awake," he said. Better to do the questioning while the Pilot was tired and weak.

Another woman came into the room, and Cyrus turned to meet her. She was...very blue. Huh. But he assumed this was the psychic, and he motioned her inside. "Yep. Just call me Cyrus. Ayn, right? Anyway, yeah, so this is the guy I needed your help with," he said, pointing to the Pilot. "He's a Pilot, by the way. Don't freak."

Maybe he should have warned her about that sooner, but he hadn't wanted to risk her blabbing about there being a Pilot here before all that information had been released. Didn't want her to get cold feet, either--she was one of the few psychics in Teinar, and they needed her. As he'd told her over the phone, they just needed her to verify that what he told them was true. Easy enough, right?

"You know anything about doing those shield things?"

[Anonymous]

“Well I don’t stroll through jails often, but I will keep that in mind on the way out” Kimi smirked slightly, crossing her arms and leaning against a wall. She closed her eyes briefly and took a calming breath for good measure.

The soldier gave a puzzled look at first when the pilot mentioned Ayn. It didn’t take long after Cyrus spoke however for her to figure it out. He’s well enough to read minds it seems.

This is not good. We need to take care of this quick.

Though ‘how’ was something else. Her primary methods to interrogate were not likely to work here. Especially not if he really had amnesia, he wouldn’t have anything to tell. And if that were the case, then the best option for the safety of city would be to terminate the pilot.

Kimi looked up quickly when she heard a female voice, and ended up staring a little. Of course she shouldn’t have, but the fact that this other woman had the same shade of blue in her hair was intriguing. Actually just about everything on this woman was some shade of blue. Kimi was so preoccupied with examining Ayn she just barely heard her reason for being here.

Just something about her, an odd feeling. Like she wasn’t exactly human…

She kept a close eye on Ayn, a bit slow at the moment to remember it was rude and a bit unnerving for the receiving party. Well at least it wasn’t a death glare. No this was the focused gaze of a scientist, trying to figure out a puzzle.

[Tally]

Whilst awaiting Ayn's arrival, the Pilot's eyes drifted shut, pain etched in the frown on his brow, the clenching of his hands in the sheets.  They must have given him a painkiller, or several.  Behind the chemical relief his head felt fragile, fractured.  He didn't feel connected to any of this, and couldn't fear something so distant, so filtered.  Cyrus couldn't worry him, because Cyrus couldn't reach him.  There was no reaching a dream, and apparition, a ghost.

I'm getting delirious.  One lucid thought in the haze.

A jab at his arm roused him enough to get his eyes open, but they wandered from one face to another before focus came back to them.  Cyrus, right.  Ayn.  Kimi.  He was in a prison cell.  Had to keep his head in reality.

Though, if he were right about what was coming, delirium might be the kinder state.

At least I'll be alone.  Physically alone.  Isolation just didn't have the same effect on a psychic.  Confining as this cell was, with its solid walls and tiny window, he would still have preferred it to any of the others.  Solitude suited him fine, and to be locked up with the other prisoners would have been problematic for everyone involved.  They would have sought to take advantage of his physical weakness immediately and he would have exploited every nasty trick at his disposal to protect himself.  Messy all around.

"I think I'd rather sleep," he muttered, frowning up at Cyrus.  "Conrad is coming?"

How stupid were they, to put their leader in the room with a psychic?  Unless...

Ah.  Unless they were certain of his fate.  Kill him after Conrad's visit and there would be no danger of him making use of whatever knowledge he picked up from the Chairman.  That was the most practical course of action.  It's what he would have done.  He didn't want to die—it felt like failure, and failure felt too familiar to him—but maybe...maybe this was for the best.  If he could hold out long enough, he might die before they got any useful information out of him.

"I don't think she can find my name," he added, eyes drifting shut again.  For her to find knowledge that he couldn't locate himself would take a delicate and extensive probing.  Not something he would allow even if she were capable of such a thing.  "I'd tell you if I knew.  I want to know.  It's right there.  I'll find it."

Gods above.  Every time his eyes closed his thoughts just scattered and now he was rambling.  At least if they killed him, he'd be able to rest.

[Anonymous]

Ayn was very aware that her color scheme needed a bit of changing up. The fabrics she needed to make her clothes did not come cheap though and blue was usually just the first color she grabbed. Maybe she should think of changing her outfits up a little...it might draw less attention. She quickly pushed the thoughts to the back of her head. Now was really not the time to have them wandering now was it? Right. Mind straight, not time for wandering thoughts.

She nodded her head a little when Cyrus confirmed her name. "Okay and yes....ah...what...?" She just stared at Cyrus then. Nice way to surprise her. He had just said he needed help with a prisoner...he didn't say the prisoner was a Pilot. Honestly she wasn't really sure how to react. Part of her was shocked and at the same time tempted to just turn around and walk away and another part was well...still surprised but wanted to stay and help. Even if she didn't really have to do much other than confirm things...this was still a Pilot! "O...Okay.." she murmured, a bit unnerved. For more than one reason suddenly though. It was just the feeling that someone was staring at you a bit too closely.

Ayn shifted a little uncomfortably and glanced over at the other woman in the room, noticing that it was her who was causing the other unnerving feeling. She offered a small smile to the woman, not really sure what else to do or say since she hadn't really said anything. Had she done something wrong already? If not then what was it that was causing the woman to look so closely? It baffled her and caused her to worry even more. As if worrying about having to help out with a Pilot wasn't enough.

Cyrus speaking up again quickly took her from her thoughts and she looked back at him again. "Ah...yes..?" Now...shield things...? That could mean a couple of things but he hadn't been really specific. She was sure she could do whatever he was talking about. At least she hoped so anyway. If it was a large scale thing now it'd be a bit of a problem considering just being her normal human size put quite a bit of strain on her body. Using her psychic abilities and anything else just added to the strain which was normally while in her current size, she kept using things like that to a minimum.

She glanced over at the Pilot when he spoke up as well and frowned slightly. He didn't look so good at all. Even if he didn't really look threatening or much of a problem at the moment, she was still quite worried. Even if she tried she couldn't really push the worry away. "I can't...?" He didn't even know his name? That was a bit odd. Had he hit his head or something? No no..she didn't need to be worrying about that. Despite what he had said..and despite the fact that she knew it was probably true if he had forgotten it, she could at least try...right? If she did she might be able to bring something to light..something close to his name that would help him remember it? Though helping him remember things..was that really a good thing to do? It wouldn't be like she would mean to of course...she'd only be confirming things as Cyrus had asked. "I'm sure you will. Since it's important to know." she said, smiling a little. She was trying to be nice. If she was maybe things would go smoothly and there wouldn't be any problems between them when she tried to verify everything she had to.

[Anonymous]

A black car with tinted windows pulled up behind the prison screeching to a halt. Conrad stepped out of the car is long legs coming first. The driver was scrambling to get back to him in time. He adjusted a pair of leather gloves on his hands pulling them tighter. His face looked cold and impassable. He was preparing himself for what would lay ahead. His gloved hand extended back and a white gloved hand took his as he stepped aside.

The person getting out behind him was a tall thin woman. Her voice was pointed and she looked colder than he did. There was something that was frozen in her blue eyes. She had long blond hair that was done up in a tight bun and thin framed glasses rested on the bridge of her nose. She was wearing all white a tight skirt down to her knees and a suit jacket sort of set up with a sleeveless shirt underneath. It gave her an eerie appearance of a nurse.

Her name was Alicia Kane, she was Conrad's personal assistant. She was almost always at his side. Council meetings excluded and sometimes at his home because his wife couldn't bare to be around her. The darker side to her that always seemed to be just waiting to pounce always scared Amelia. She was indispensable to Conrad, this situation they were in was perfect for Alicia. Her resume before being his P.A was a mystery to everyone besides Conrad and the council.

The other white gloved hand clutched the handle of a metal suitcase. Conrad was hoping that some of her methods would not be needed but in case, just in case, he had his exterminator and her tools with him. If the Pilot was smart he wouldn't fight it, he would tell them what they needed to know, and most likely die quietly. The Council Meeting had been short. Well shorter than most. It's what had delayed him in arriving at the jail.

Conrad had a feeling the whole ordeal would go the opposite of what he wanted.

The driver shut the door behind them as they started to walk away. They were coming in through a back entrance that was saved for the higher up staff and appearances of Council members and Conrad himself. The door opened a soldier standing there who saluted Conrad and Alicia as well. She ignored the man and adjusted her skirt.

"At ease, fill me in and take me to the Pilot." The soldier nodded and shut the door behind them punching in the numbers and then taking out a key locking the door. The soldier walked in front of them and another came in behind them as they walked down a long closed off hallway towards the cells.

"Everyone is in the room ready and waiting. The Psychic is in there already along with Cyrus and his new partner. I believe they've begun to start the process." The soldier spoke sternly strongly. He trusted Conrad had the answer. Conrad knew what he should do. Get the information he needed about Aedolis that he needed from the Pilot. What he was mostly concerned with was how much they knew about Teinar if anything and what their plans were regarding it. Anything extra was dressing, things they'd put in a file and maybe use someday. He hoped the Pilot would give these things willingly, no need to suffer. If not, Conrad glanced at Alicia, more colorful techniques would need to be introduced.

They came to the door and the soldier stood at attention.

"At ease go back to your post. Thank you." The soldier gave a salute and Conrad returned it. Alicia was already peeking in through the door at the scene in front of them. He followed her lead and looked in seeing the man on the stretched. He appeared anything but the huge threat he represented. A whole nation rested on that man and he just looked like a sick patient. Conrad looked at the floor adjusting his gloves again.

"Sir?" Alicia's cold business voice cut the silence like a knife. Conrad raised his head to looked over at her. "Are you ready?" After a short pause and a quick intake of breath he answered, putting down that last emotional shield, the mask he'd need to make it through this without showing too many cards. The detached feeling.

"Yes Alicia." She pushed the door open and walking in holding it open for Conrad who stepped through. He nodded to Cyrus first then eyed the two other women in the room then finally the stretcher bound Pilot. He adjusted his gloves one last time.

"Introduce me to everyone Cyrus."

[Rhi-Rhi]

"You can sleep later," Cyrus muttered, and hoped for all their sakes that his sleep would be permanent. Nothing personal, really. He got no joy out of people dying. It was just one of those nasty, necessary things, is all. He arched an eyebrow when the Pilot mentioned Conrad, then grimaced.

"Uh...y-yeah..." Fucking creepy, that's what that was. Reading his mind again. He could have been about to say Connor or Conan or some shit like that, but no. Of course. His mind was synced with his and he couldn't even feel it. Not like you could feel eyes on the back of your neck when you were being spied on. Ugh... "Look, you, don'tcha got anything better to do than fool around in my head?"

And the Ayn chick. He was really starting to have doubts about that. Anytime someone answered a question with a question, you knew there were gonna be problems. Still, right now she was the only psychic in his arsenal and the only one who had even the slightest chance of making sense of...well...shieldi ng and all that. And now she was acting all soft and sympathetic, too! Men psychics. He needed to find a bloody man psychic that wasn't a Pilot, seriously, because this nurturing stuff was just...right. "Just...make sure you do some sorta shield thing when Conrad gets here. Keep the Pilot away from Conrad. That sorta deal. Can you--"

He was just about to ask for a second time if she could do that since she hadn't given him a straight answer the first time before worrying about the Pilot's damned name, but that was when the doors opened and in came Conrad and some woman he'd seen around a few times. Cyrus cut off and turned to salute him, then waited.

Introductions? All right. Easy enough.

"Well, uh, that's my partner Kimi over there, and that's Ayn--she's one of our psychics--and the Pilot's, well...a Pilot. The Pilot. Found him out in the wastes," he said, motioning to each in turn and then shrugging. "Says he don't remember shit, doesn't know his name--"

"It's Temple," a voice cut in, and Cyrus turned in time to see the guards letting in a younger woman who looked out of breath: Aramae. She was dressed head to toe in earth tones designed to blend in to the world above, carrying her goggles and breathing apparatus in one gloved hand and an encased data disc in the other. She shoved the disc at Conrad as she approached. "Sorry I'm late. Just got back not an hour ago, thanks for the message, Amadori--and speaking of messages, I received a really interesting one today. You can peruse it later, but we got some dirt on the Pilot. Temple Rosales, Pilot Echo. That's one rank up from the starting point, so not bad, but not stellar."

She ran her hands through her short red hair, fluffing it back up where it had been flattened by goggle straps and the like. "Anyway, the message asked if he was here, and not to kill him if he is. I haven't replied, but..." Her eyes swept from Conrad to Alicia, lingering on the woman with obvious dislike, before drifting to her suitcase. When she looked back at Conrad again, she frowned. "I happen to agree with the no-kill policy. What's in the case, eh?" she asked, nodding at it.

Aramae had a hunch. She could read it off of Alicia, hear all their thoughts bouncing all over the place; it was hard to keep up unless she really focused, like being in a room where everyone was talking all at once--only faster and less coherent, jumping from one subject to the other as fast as thoughts could fly. She didn't like what she caught, though. Temple was the exception--he was like a black hole in the room, and she didn't dare go near him lest he destroy her. She kept her distance both physically and mentally, and absently rubbed her thumb over the scar on her palm where her chip had been removed in some back alley procedure when she was twelve. She still didn't have full use of that hand.

Sheer luck was the only reason she was here now and not in Aedolis. By now she would have either been a Pilot or dead.

"Sorry I missed the meeting, by the way. By the time I knew about it I just...well, I was delayed." Aramae took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So. I'm not sure exactly what you decided, but from the looks of it..." Another low sigh. "Chairman, I thought torture was an Aedolis thing."

Once again she eyed the suitcase, lip curling in disgust and hands planting on her hips. She shook her head and looked over at Temple, expression softening. She understood he was dangerous; she really did. She got it. You didn't fuck with Pilots. Maybe she was just taking this too personally--no, not just that. He was a prisoner. There were laws, and dangerous or not he was a human being with basic rights. "So, what's his crime? Apart from bleeding and being from a place we hate, I mean. Because if that's a crime, well shit, chain me up and lock me away. We're all guilty."

She looked up at Conrad and flashed him a cheerful smile, though it didn't reach her turquoise eyes. Someone groaned loudly, and when she looked she saw Cyrus palming his face and muttering to himself. "Didn't want me here, you shouldn't have called," she said to his mind, just to watch him jump about a foot, which he did right on cue. Three fucking psychics, she thought she heard him think and snorted to herself.

Worked every. Single. Time.

[Anonymous]

Kimi tried not to frown and looked away. This girl didn’t seem all that sure of herself, and that was probably going to cause problems. She was no psychic, but she assumed it would take a strong will to deal with the pilot.

As she tried not to smile too much at the apparent banter Cyrus and the pilot shared, the door opened again, and this time the newcomers were Conrad and his oh so friendly assistant.

Not that Kimi knew her at all, but something about Alicias presence just put her on edge.

She stood at attention then, bowing her head, but not lowering her eyes when Cyrus introduced her. Being respectful is the same as lowering your guard.

Kimi was content to let Cyrus speak for now, eyes on the pilot intently until she heard yet another voice.

Ugh, it’s getting crowded in here…wait, I know that one.

She looked up to see Aramae, someone who also explored the surface. Though truthfully a lot more then she did, which was why the first few times she had asked for Aramae’s assistance. Getting lost up there was something she’d rather avoid.

For the first time today Kimi gave a true smile for Aramae before focusing on the Pilot again. She was working right now after all, can’t get distracted. Though by now she was starting to wonder if she and Cyrus were still needed here. After all, they were just soldiers. If the Pilot really decided to retaliate, the only ones who would stand a chance were Ayn and Aramae.

[Tally]

"No, I don't," he answered Cyrus.  "I'm strapped to a bed.  What else am I'm supposed to do?"  Of all the stupid questions the dumbass had probably asked in his life, that had to be among some of the denser ones.  "You're a bright one aren't you, Cyrus?"

He then blinked up at Ayn, caught off guard by her smile.  A friendly face was the last thing he expected here, and he found himself returning her smile even though there wasn't a question in his mind of her reading anything off him or him shattering through any shield she might make if he felt it necessary.  He hoped it wouldn't come to that.  She seemed almost sympathetic, and sympathy was proving hard to come by.

Given that, the last thing he wanted here was a surprise.  There would be plenty of that in the days to come, assuming he lived through this.  But no one was getting into that room before he had a full read on them.  He let his eyes fall shut and his senses rippled outward to their full range where he found a plethora of interesting thought trails available for exploring.  Minds wide open.  For all that he was the one strapped to the bed he was beginning to feel almost sheepish, like he'd brought an uzi to a knife fight.

None of the thoughts he sampled were what he was looking for so he retracted, pulled in closer, and lighted upon Conrad's mind.  He drifted there on those thoughts like a bird on a breeze, then touched into the mind nearest him, a woman named Alicia.

A woman who thought she would actually get close enough to touch him.  Cute.  They really didn't get it.

Farther away, her attention bent upon the Pilot himself and upon her own concerns, he caught the unmistakable vibrancy of another psychic.  It was about to get very mentally crowded in here indeed.

He stayed with Conrad and his cold-minded shadow during their whole walk to the cell, where he opened his eyes and got his first look at the leader of Teinar.  The man wanted to know what Aedolis knew about the subterranean nation.  The Pilot couldn't answer that, wouldn't be able to answer a lot of things.  This would be a frustrating interrogation all around.

Or maybe not.  Once Aramae entered, it seemed they at last had everyone there that they needed, but she wasn't pulling her punches.  With a sigh the Pilot settled in.  Looked like his fate wasn't so sealed after all.

Then his attention snapped into sudden alert.

Temple Rosales.

His name?  Didn't sound familiar in the least, but she wasn't lying.  Temple.  It was a start.

What he saw in Aramae was a possibility of living.  He sent a gentle interrogative her way, a mental tap on the shoulder to let her know he was there before he spoke.  Best to be polite, to appear reasonable and—more than anything else—harmless.  He wasn't harmless, especially now that he knew everything about Teinar that Conrad knew, especially given that he could have snapped a neck or two with a couple quick twists of telekinesis before they managed to knock him out, but the more he could avoid reminding them of those facts the better.

"Thank you," he pathed to Aramae.  "For what you said.  And for my name.  How likely are they to disregard their own law?  I know Teinar has laws specifying the rights of prisoners and disallowing torture, but do they follow those laws?  Does Conrad?"

[Anonymous]

Her attention was back on Cyrus when he started to speak again. Now he didn't seem very happy either. It was easy to tell from the way that he spoke and of course the way his thoughts were going. She quickly stopped herself from listening in on them though since the act of that seemed to put the man in obvious discomfort. She smiled a little and nodded at what he was saying. "I can." Now that he had sort of specified what he had meant before, she knew she could do it.

Ayn was quiet again after that. She glanced over at the two people who had arrived then. Now she didn't really know who they were of course but from the way Cyrus and the other woman were acting, they had to be important. The woman was a little...intimidati ng and she found herself trying to keep some space between them if she could. Not on purpose, of course. It just happened. Again she kept herself from listening in on their thoughts, especially the woman's. She was a bit more afraid of what she'd hear from her than what she was hearing from the prisoners when she first arrived.

When she was introduced, she gave a small wave and a smile. Honestly, she didn't know exactly what else she was supposed to do.

Then yet another person arrived. Another woman. Ayn was still quiet and just listened to the banter. There was not need for her to interrupt or put her two cents in. Although she felt more at ease with the new woman. She didn't get anywhere near the same feeling she got from Alicia. Their conversation was losing her a little at times and it took a little bit to keep her attention on what they were saying. It didn't seem to have anything to do with her though, yet, so it probably wouldn't be too much of a problem if she didn't listen in. Then again it was best to pay attention so she would know when she needed to respond or something.

It was then that she noticed though that the room had quite a few people in it and felt a little crowded both physically and mentally. Her shop was never extremely busy so she never had to deal with much mental chatter to block out so she wasn't entirely used to all of the thoughts she was hearing. It was sort of dizzying. Her little wings twitched a little with her distress. It was enough to bring her back to focusing on what was going on and she did her best to block off the mental babble, though she did find herself rubbing her temple just slightly then, warding off a small headache that had started.

When she realized what she was doing though she let her hand fall though. Probably not best to show any distress, right? She blinked and glanced around, realizing then that she had pretty much not listened to much of anything that had actually been said then. Oops. Well there was no attention on her yet so she would just assume she didn't need to do anything yet.

[Anonymous]

"Thank you for your help Ayn." He gave a nod to the head to the others. He'd have to thank her more personally later. Ayn was really serving Teinar, diving headfirst into a hard situation like this, a dangerous situation. It was what their country called for all of them to do. He felt this was above and beyond.  Conrad held his hands in front of him as Cyrus started to explain the situation, Cyrus was always amusing to Conrad. He liked how relaxed he was with Conrad to curse in front of him. Some people clammed up right off.

He was starting to say something rather important when Aramae walked in. Conrad followed after Ayn and started to rub his temples as she started to speak. He felt the start of a headache. He gave Cyrus a glance, he didn't look much happier. He took the disc from her with a gloved hand. He dropped his other hand from his head. Conrad turned the disc over in his hands. He slid it into an inside pocket on his jacket.

The whole idea was intimidation, presenting a united unafraid front. So instead Aramae had created a division. He couldn't fault her though, Conrad hadn't known that the Pilot had amnesia. It made the situation entirely different. It was a whole new mag ball game.

"Aramae, thanks for joining us." He smiled at her despite his irritation. He really did like her, she was boisterous, presented her opinion, she was what they needed in Teinar. "Miss Kane may have her won idea with how to deal with the situation." He paused glancing over his shoulder at her. There was a slight softness in her eyes as she looked at him. "I'm sure you can pick up on them. However Cyrus just told me that Temple has amnesia. Which makes this a different sort of situation entirely."

Conrad looked at the Pilot for the first time since he had come into the room. The man didn't look dangerous. Pilots always could be so deceiving normal people brainwashed and trained to destroy a mind. He felt a chill run up his neck. Temple could be as dangerous as they come, or he could be lost...not able to remember anything. Conrad's face went softer as he looked at him then turned back to Aramae.

"So settle down Aramae." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Can you two confirm that he doesn't remember anything?" His voice was more systematic again as he motioned to Ayn with one hand and gave a slight squeeze on Aramae's shoulder. He needed to be sure that Temple didn't remember anything. This could mean he wouldn't have to do anything drastic. Conrad had never wanted to hurt anyone, but when a whole way of life is on the line he could see a need for sacrifice. All of Teinar was counting on him to make the right decisions to keep them safe. He couldn't take that lightly.

He looked straight at Temple while he waited. He was scared to address the Pilot, right now he was still just a problem...not a person to Conard yet. He worked hard to get into that frame of mind. Maybe though...everything would turn out alright.

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Fuck you," Cyrus growled at Temple before throwing a look at Conrad, as though to check if he'd heard. "I'm not the one strapped to a bed, so who's the bright one, huh? You could be doin' something useful like, I dunno, trying to remember shit."

The nerve of that idiot. Being a smartass when he should be trying to save his ass. Sure wasn't impressing Cyrus, and all this namby pamby political bullshit when they should just be extracting information and getting rid of the evidence and the threat was impressing him even less. He couldn't believe they were actually listening to Aramae. Were they insane? This wasn't a normal POW!

Meanwhile, Aramae took a deep breath and relaxed with Conrad's hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, sir. Got a little...worked up there. Y'know how I get. As for his amnesia..." She looked up at Conrad. "Well, no guarantees that I can do that, but we'll see."

She looked over at Temple then and hoped she had done the right thing.

"You're welcome," she 'pathed back. "They won't hurt you if you don't hurt us. Conrad's a good man, but this is all very...this puts us in a bad spot. You understand, right? Your being here threatens our freedom. It would be easier if you died." She sighed, not intending malice by those words. It was just a simple fact: executing him would be the easy way out, it would solve the situation they were in, but it wouldn't be right. It wasn't a decision she could ever feel comfortable with.

But that didn't mean she trusted the Pilot and there was worry knotted in her brow. He could be a victim just like she had almost been, just another brainwashed kid that hadn't been unable to escape the system--or he could be the other kind of Pilot, the kind that loved the power.

The kind that would sell out Teinar in a heartbeat and destroy all their lives.

Aramae smiled at him, sadly, and projected those thoughts outward. "What kind of Pilot are you, Temple?"

But Conrad had asked her to try and confirm that Temple had amnesia, and...oh boy. The only way to do that was to get inside his head, and Aramae was not even going to try. She threw a look at Ayn. "Don't, unless he lets you. And if he doesn't don't push it," she said and then returned her attention to Temple.

This was awkward. And frightening. She didn't want to attempt it, didn't want to even ask--she wanted to keep as clear of the Pilot as she could because she knew good and well that he could break her mind with a thought if he wanted and she would be powerless to prevent it. She was as raw and untrained as they came. But this was important.

"Uh...may I?" Even that felt like she going too far, but she figured politeness couldn't hurt.

[Anonymous]

Cyrus finally managed to get a chuckle out of Kimi then, however soft and subdued it was. Well maybe working with Cyrus wouldn’t be so bad. At least he was amusing…in a strange way Kimi couldn’t quite define.
Though she might have been slightly put off if she knew that she and the paranoid soldier were actually on the same page. Too much talk, not enough decision. Worrying about the moral implications in this case was going to get them all killed.

This pilot, hostile or not, may as well have caused the entire cave to collapse upon them when he arrived, because that’s what was going to happen regardless of his possible execution.

Because there was still the possibility, that more would come looking for him.

They would wonder where the dragons rider had gone.

She sighed, starting to look frustrated. Kimi wasn’t psychic, but everything about this was weighing heavily on her mind. What is so hard to understand? If they killed him they had a slim chance staying hidden. But with him alive…Surely they would be able to sense each other. It would take only a second to transfer the information. Teinar would be wiped out. And it’d probably take less than an hour.

Goddammit, nobody would have given a rats ass if he had died in combat.

Kimi shifted her weight slightly and got ‘comfortable’ again. Conrad must be keeping Cyrus and me here as a false sense of security, or some sort of intimidation factor. This goes on any longer though and I might ask him if I can leave and do something more useful with my time then stare at someone I barely have a chance at stopping.

[Tally]

Temple juggled two different conversations, both of them in his head, and listened to a third spoken aloud.  He couldn't let go Cyrus's last comment without a response, but since they had more company now, he kept his reply strictly mental.  "I am trying to remember things.  Do you even know what amnesia is?  Yes, I'm telepathing to you again. Try not to wet yourself over it."

He really ought to be trying to cultivate sympathy here, not aggravating his captors, but damned if Cyrus didn't just bring out that side of him.

Passive telepathy required little effort—it involved letting the mind pick up the surface thoughts of those around it, rather like a radio catching electromagnetic waves.  As his own range for passive listening extended to such an uncommonly long radius, he set it to the edges of the room only and let the droplets of Conrad's present thoughts fall into his mind while he considered all that had happened, and all that might happen.

He needed an objective, something clear that he could work towards, that would direct his every action toward an end.

Survival, yes, but more specifically to convince them that he did not need to be killed here, now, on principle.  That he was no present threat.  That Conrad could leave this room with Temple still alive and be assured of his people's safety, at least for the moment.  And to do that, he had to appear as nonthreatening as possible.  No cocky displays of telepathic power, no displays at all if he could help it, and it wouldn't hurt to remind them that Teinar lay too far underground and was shielded by too much geological activity for any psychic to sense it, no matter how great their range.  Even if there were a psychic standing on the surface right above him, even if they both reached toward the other to the greatest extent of their range, they'd still never be able to make contact through the distance and the metal deposits in the earth and the storms of electromagnetic energy therein.

"If I don't hurt you?" he telepathed back to Aramae.  "Do I look in much of a state to be hurting anyone?"  He sent her a sensation, the feel of the restraints on his arms and legs and torso, to drive the point home.  "I...I wish I could tell you.  I don't remember.  I have no sense of myself."

It had occurred to him to take on a persona she might sympathize with, play himself up as a Pilot who hated Aedolis and craved freedom from it, but doing so would have actually required more knowledge of the place than he could give with his memories knocked loose.  Besides, he hardly needed any help to look pitiful.

Her last question got a swift, instinctive response from him though. "No!" he said, far harsher than he should have, and immediately he thought better of it.  The idea of any of them in his head galled him, but...remember the objective.  It wasn't as though they could do any damage and if it would help...

"Fine.  You do know how to tell lie from truth don't you?"  Lies had a distinct sound, like an echo, as the truth of it chimed within the lower levels of consciousness.  There were a good half a dozen or so effective ways to hide a lie mentally, but he wouldn't be needing them.

He didn't just let them in on their own, but guided them instead, reaching out first to Aramae and then to Ayn and drawing the threads of their consciousness into his mind, and only as far as they needed to go.  He would allow them to hear what they needed to hear, what he needed them to hear to ensure his safety, but no more than that.  He held them aloft over the dark depths of his psyche, using no shields, no seals, nothing to separate them from him and instead utilizing reflective techniques to keep his other thoughts from their hearing so that if they attempted to pick up anything other than what he sent them they would find only blackness, like a hollow void waiting to devour them.

I don't remember who I am, he thought carefully.  I don't remember Aedolis.  I don't remember how I got here or what I was doing before, and I can reach no psychics loyal to Aedolis from here.  That would be impossible.  I have no intentions that would bring harm down on Teinar.

His eyes met Conrad's, held them briefly, then slid away in deference.

[Anonymous]

Ayn quickly turned her attention to Conrad when she heard him. The quick turn of her head didn't help the forming headache either but she just ignored the throbbing that came from it. "It's not a problem at all." she said, smiling faintly. She quickly stopped herself when she realized she had unintentionally ended up listening in on Conrad's thoughts at that point. The throbbing in her head wasn't exactly helping her predicament of blocking everything out.

From what she had picked up before blocking him off though she couldn't help but sort of feel a little bad for him. Honestly, she wouldn't know what to do with herself if she had so much responsibility. Most likely crack under pressure but then again that was because she was just a simple shop owner.

She just nodded a little to Conrad's question since Aramae had started speaking. When she heard Aramae next she blinked and glanced over at her before smiling a little. Really she wasn't stupid. She never dared to dig into a normal person's mind. Not that it was anything like the current situation but she just didn't think it was right. Now for this situation..there were more problems than it just being not right...

"I know but thank you for the warning anyway."

Like Aramae, Ayn was a bit nervous and frightened about the whole matter. Yes she had agreed to doing it but that didn't mean she had to be completely confident. If any of the others in the room were in the same situation as herself and Aramae then there was no doubt that they'd feel the same way. Okay...except maybe Cyrus..maybe..if he lost his fear of pathing and everything like that.

When she heard Temple, she stopped what she was thinking. There was not need to be distracted. Having her thoughts mix with what he was saying would just cause an even worse headache. "Not even a little sliver of anything?" She didn't think he was lying. It didn't seem like it but it didn't hurt to just make sure. Of course she didn't dare seek out the answer for herself either. This was obviously as far as he was going to let things go and she didn't want to dig.

[Anonymous]

Conrad watched intently as everyone stood around. He felt bad for the people going into the unknown territory of a Pilot's brain. He felt somewhat useless if he was being completely honest. He had to make decisions but he had to trust the evidence of the psychics about a psychic. It made the situation simple in one way, more complicated in another.

He felt Alicia come closer behind him looking over his shoulder. Her hand touched his back for one moment and then dropped. He knew she was nervous. She had wanted a more mechanical solution. Torture, information, then kill. She understood politics but didn't have the patience for them like he did. If no one had voiced against it...if people outside the higher ups weren't here...would he have made a different decision? He wasn't really sure.

When Temple met eyes with him he saw an honesty in them. He hoped that wasn't faked. He'd rather have a Pilot on his side if her could work that. Temple would be more valuable alive than dead. Conrad watched Temple drop his eyes. It made him think of his Dad. Conrad's father used to own a big tamed dog like creature from the Wastes. Every once in awhile Kora would get grumpy and his Dad would stare down the dog. It would always drop it's eyes. A showing of submission. Conrad nodded, maybe everything would turn out alright after all.

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Goddammit! Wouldja use your motherfuckin' WORDS?!" Cyrus barked back at Temple, quite oblivious to the fact that, if this wasn't a damned PILOT he was yelling at, he would have looked clinically insane. Gods be damned but he felt insane, voices in his head and all that shit--and not even that, but let the guy live. Maybe it was some unconscious mind influence psychic crap that did it, because he had not been in his right mind.

The hair on the back of his neck prickled, a chill running down his spine. Stopping that train of thought right now.

He jabbed a finger at Temple. "I KNOW what 'amnesia' is and I KNOW you ain't got it! I ain't stupid!" He paused, feeling a horrid moment of uncertainty. Shifting his weight uncomfortably, he darted a look at the two other psychics, the two still-freaky-but-at-least-on-their-side psychics. "Right? He's lying."

"I'll tell you when I know," Aramae answered without looking at him, eyes closed with concentration and words clipped with annoyance as she tried to focus on Temple. It was difficult enough without that idiot screeching in the background. Idiot. Didn't he realize how dangerous this was? How much she and Ayn were risking? "Now shut up. I'm trying to listen."

She let Temple guide her in, nerves drawn taut. For all her talk about Temple being potentially blameless and all that, it still didn't change the fact that he was a Pilot. What if she was wrong? Well, if she was he probably wouldn't have let her come this far, and she couldn't have even come this far on her own to begin with. She could feel no shields, no blocks; this was not the mind of someone who had something to hide.

And it seemed mostly blank.

Amnesia...could psionics unlock memories that not even the person could remember?

Finally she withdrew, relieved to get out in one piece, back into the safety of her own mind and away from the awful sensation of claustrophobic restraints and darkness.

"He's not lying," she finally said, rolling her shoulders back and taking a deep breath. "At least, I couldn't find anything that indicated anything but honesty. He doesn't want to hurt us, he doesn't remember how he got here, he doesn't remember Aedolis, and he can't reach anyone above the surface." She looked over at Ayn. "That's what I got, at least. Ayn may have found something I didn't. But I really think he's innocent. He hasn't hurt any of us, has he? He didn't hurt me and I was in his head."

She folded her arms, frowning. "I know none of us love Aedolis, but it's not like all the people there are evil. Not even the Pilots. We do have friends on the inside, remember?" She looked at Temple, then at Conrad. "Maybe he's one of them."

[Tally]

"Very little," he told Ayn, and allowed Aramae to hear his answer as well.  "Vague images, a few names that I can't attach to any faces..."

Temple gave a mental shrug and ejected whatever was left of the two psychics from his mind and dropped a guillotine behind them to sever any stray telepathy they might have thought they could get away with leaving.  It was the equivalent of using a hurricane to extinguish a candle, but since he had so little aptitude for the subtler forms of psionics, he necessarily resorted to overwhelming force to simply crush anything he could not detect.

As soon as he had performed both a sweep of his own mind, to listen for echoes that should not be there, and a violent push outward to be doubly sure they were both gone, he slammed down the full force of his shields again. Only when he was once again alone behind those immense walls did he allow himself to think freely again.

What a bunch of idiots.

He cringed when Cyrus got loud.  It made his head ring.  "Don't yell at me," he mumbled, even though Cyrus may not have actually yelled per se. But it seemed way too loud to him nevertheless.

"Just answer me in your thoughts," he added to Cyrus telepathically.  "Because you look like a crazy person right now.  Just think your responses and I'll hear them.  Dumbass."

It was tempting, with Conrad's thoughts moving in the direction that Temple had wanted, to speculate on his next move.  To reach out into the city and begin thinking on what he would do when this was over.  Possibly, to begin thinking about escape.  But escape to where?  To a nation he couldn't remember and knew nothing about?

Distracted thoughts could kill a mission.  He quieted his speculations and bent his mind once more upon simply surviving this day.  It was a becoming a struggle to remain awake and alert.  Though he'd barely exerted himself, he hadn't had much strength in his broken body to begin with, and he could feel unconsciousness lurking, wanting to overtake him.

[Anonymous]

Ayn tried not to jump when Cyrus started to yell. It had caused her concentration to slip a little but she was quick to get it back. She really needed to calm down a little but it was hard to do with Cryus' temper flaring. She just let Aramae talk to him. She figured she didn't have much right to tell him he needed to be quiet or anything. In fact she was a little afraid to. She really didn't want to be yelled at next.

"I see." That would not be an answer Cyrus would accept or want to accept. That much was blatantly obvious. She was quick to withdraw out of Temples mind at that point. There was nothing else there to find. It was pretty much just as he had said and just as Aramae was saying.

Ayn glanced at the woman and scratched her cheek a little. "She's right. I got the same thing." she said, glancing at Cyrus then to gauge his reaction. A reaction which would no doubt be lovely or happy in any way. What else were they supposed to do though? They had done as asked and came up with nothing. she pretty much sided with Aramae on viewpoint as well but again that was not something she figured she had much right to speak. She had just been called to help figure out whether the Pilot was lying or not. Doing that did not mean she needed to voice her opinion on such important matters. Things like deciding what would happen next were out of her hands.