Congratulations, Seeker Blake ((Muffin-o-kitsy))

[Anonymous]

Marshal's light blue eyes were unfocused, staring not at the wall in front of him but through it. The pristine white that surrounded him, walls, floor and ceiling, formed the perfect ignorable background for his probing. In the lead rooms, only the two minds existed, his own, and that of the woman kneeling before him.

She was there, as she had been for hours this day, and hours the day before, for almost three weeks now. The process usually didn't take this long, but this case was...different.

Danica Blake had lived a very long time, there was much to trawl.

Every little memory had to be searched, examined, turned over and studied to make sure it was free from anything that might suggest she was a Gospel.

Gospel. The new name being used by the rebel pilots. Scum. How it burned at him.

His mind was so interwoven with hers it was hard to tell where hers ended and his began, a steady flow of memory streaming into his brain where it was viewed. Not too long ago he'd kneeled there, face stony as he tolerated the humiliation of kneeling before other pilots, seekers, some higher in rank and some lower than him.

He was the last of the twelve, chosen at random, to probe Danica, and he was the most thorough, the most vicious. He was hurting her, there was no doubt about that, ripping away memories deeper than she would have liked, seeing every embarrassing moment as well as the mundane.

Then, without warning, he was finished.

Tendrils retracted into his own mind, sorting her memories and filing them away into unused space in his own brain.

Humans didn't use much of their brains, Marshal used about 7% for himself. The rest he used for storage, the memories of candidates, Seekers and informants stored in the unused spaces in his mind.

"Rise, Pilot Blake," he commanded, his air of arrogance piercing every word.

"As I am the last of the twelve, and they have already given their recommendation, your appointment to position of Seeker lies in my hands." He let that sink in for a while, a smirk touching his lips. Unanimous consent was required, though him saying no didn't guarantee her not being allowed to become a Seeker, it effectively sealed it. She was in his power now, and that's not something that happened very often with Danica Blake.

"I have decided," another dramatic pause, "To give you my recommendation also. Congratulations Seeker Blake. Your details have been updated. Welcome to the fold."

[Anonymous]

This was all worth it.

That is what she kept telling herself. Having all of these memories ripped back out and pranced in front of her. A large portion of these memories had not been taken out in long time. The phoenix barely remembered some of them. They were dusty and untouched. Most of them had a reason for being that way. It had been terrible most of the days. She was just barely able to keep her emotions in for the whole of the reading.

This day, however was the most dreadful. It was of course Marshal, one of the Seekers she had some dealings with but they were by no means close. Just being near the human aggravated her. He was one of those males that just picked at you, knew exactly the spot to enrage her. Danica knew she would have to deal with Marshal even more i she was accepted into the Seekers, but she continued to tell herself the same thing.

This was all worth it.

It was also the most painful of the days she had spent having her mind explored. Marshal was precise, but quick and dug deeper than any of the other Seekers had. She viewed him as a professional really for the first time here. She had never felt his mind curl into hers like this. Though curl was the wrong word, plague might better suit him. She respected him but also felt her skin just crawl at the idea of him seeing everything, and she knew he did.

Then, it was over. Suddenly and almost without warning the memories faded into the background, though they were waiting there, the taste of them just present on her tongue. Danica knew that these memories would be very clear for the next few weeks, having each and every memory brought forward meant that she would have some soul searching to do again. It was something that could not be helped.

Marshal's word pierced her mind, a headache starting to brew and his arrogance overwhelming. She realized how he must enjoy having her on her knees like this, like he owned her. She glared as she rose off of her knees, he was just too much. Always digging in deeper. He knew how much she hated being under someone else, which was one of the reasons she wanted to be a Seeker, but right not in this moment h was still more than her. Her fate was based all on Richards, which she never though would happen, or that she would be able to deal with that. She waited his verdict impatiently.

When he paused mid-sentence she could almost feel her feather bristle. He was toying with her, swinging her around on a string, and he knew how much she hated it. She hoped that soon he would find out even more, once she was back in a position where she could tell him exactly what she thought about his irritating ass. Then, all the anger floated away when he said what she had been waiting the whole week for. Then she said something she never thought she would to Marshal.

"Thank you Richards." She could no prevent the small please smile that crossed her face. "Good to be here."