Wait Here, I Have A Plan [open!]

[Stardancer]

Tessa sighed and looked at her watch impatiently. She was beginning to get bored. Seriously, how long does it take him to go do whatever he went to do? she thought in exasperation. Derek had told her in no uncertain terms that he was going to go check something out and be right back before she could say 'Here I am, did you miss me?' Unfortunately, Tessa had more than plenty of time to think those words and many others as she waited for Derek to get back so they could continue to the subterrain gardens as originally planned. Tessa had no clue where the guy had gone so she couldn't follow as he wouldn't tell her anything no matter how much she prodded at him for information.

Another half hour passed, and Tessa kicked a clump of dirt nearby and screamed out in annoyance, “Dammit Derek, it would be nice if you would SHOW UP NOW!” The only response she got was the skittering of a bug on the ground nearby, its antennae wiggling as it looked up at her as though curious. Tessa didn't like bugs and she had half the mind to stomp her foot on the pesky bug as it looked up at her, but for some reason she couldn't. It wasn't doing anything to her, so she let it be. I'm going soft. Tessa snorted to herself in irritation and slight amusement. Can't even kill a blasted bug anymore.

Derek still did not appear and Tessa was starting to wonder if he ever would. The fact that something might have happened to him did not occur to her at all. Stubbornly holding her head high, Tessa stomped her foot petulantly and stated out loud, “I'm staying RIGHT HERE, so whenever it pleases you to get your ass here Derek, now would be the time! I don't got all day anyway!” Actually she did, but that was besides the point. Still nilch.

Tessa continued to wait just outside the gates to the underground city, with a couple patrolling guards wandering by on their routine inspections glancing at her periodically, but didn't question her or make any sort of conversation her way. It was just as well. Tessa was in no mood for idle chat and she wanted her companion to show up so they could continue on their little 'mission' to check out the gardens. Tessa was too stubborn to leave her position and decide to go off on her own, so still the girl waited tapping her foot on the rocky stone and dirt beneath her as the minutes ticked on by.

[ARAD V1.0]

A low profile. It was difficult to keep that, seeing he was something you didn't see every day. A machination with a free will, a consience and thoughts. Instincts. But, just generally a combat droid walking around did attract a lot of attention already. Yet, people rarely looked up. Certainly they wouldn't try and look ontop of the gate, where there were already guards stationed. He was here on a mission. Somewhere hidden on his belt was a small pistol. While he was more the type of person that would get close and personal, he would also be the first one to be suspected if the victim showed any kind of wounds caused by sharp objects. So, it was regular that he had to step out of his comfort zone.

Target acquired. A small mechanical blurt resounded from the droid. Dissappearing from sight and warping towards the floor, surging forward, the pistol brandished. He warped next to a woman. Who seemed quite agitated and impatient. Shoulderchecking with her. Time seemed to slow down slightly. She was not his target. A loud blast resounded.

And the droid dissappeared once more, dropping the pistol into one of Tessa's pockets. Roughly ten meters away from her a body hit the floor. The assailant had dissappeared as quick as he had appeared. Followed by red particles as he used his defragmentation matrix to make a quick escape.

And ofcourse, guards swarmed the place.

[Stardancer]

It all happened so fast. One second Tessa was standing there waiting impatiently for her buddy to show his face, and the next a gunshot resounded, with one of the citizens dropping dead only several feet away from her. The time lapse was there too and Tessa as a result felt a strange reality disconnect during this time. She was not aware of the droid or the gun which had been placed in her pocket. All she knew was that somebody was dead and guards were all over the place now. No assailant in sight. Tessa just stared in shock.

One of the guards spotted her and then walked up to her. "Miss, did you see anyone or anything suspicious around here? A civilian has just been killed."

Tessa only continued to stare.

The guard sighed, but then his attention was riveted to something sticking out of her pocket. It was the gun used by the robot to kill the unfortunate man who now lay in a dark red pool of his own blood, chest opened in a gruesome sight. "Where did you get that?!" he asked, his voice taking on a much more hostile tone.

"Get what? What are you talking about, hey!" Tessa yelped as the guard reached for her and grabbed the pistol from her pocket then.

"I'm talking about this, woman." The guard said menacingly, waving the gun in front of her face. "Where did you get this, hmm? Considering a man has just been killed here in this area and with a gun no less, you are a prime suspect in this investigation."

Tessa stared in shock at the gun, confusion and fear evidently clear on her face. "I've never seen that gun before?" she said, still in shock. "Heck, I don't even own a gun like that!" her voice steadily rising in her panic.

The guard just looked at her suspiciously, before another guard came up to the one interrogating Tessa. They talked among themselves quietly before the second guard looked at Tessa, his face also stern and hard. The first security officer looked back at her and said in a tone that dared her to argue with him. "The victim was shot and killed with a missile weapon not too far from where you are just standing loitering around, and here I find you with a gun in your possession, likely the very same gun used to kill the man! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Tessa's shock was beginning to turn to anger. "I don't know what happened, why don't you ask the real murderer and stop blaming me!" Her eyes darted around quickly, wondering what to do now.

Both guards sighed. "I'm afraid you'll have to come with us, miss." the second guard reached for her arm and Tessa tried to yank it back, shouting. "I'm innocent here! I don't know what's going on! I'm just waiting for a friend here!"

A crowd was starting to gather now at both Tessa's outburst and the obvious murder of the hapless man nearby. "Do not resist us, you need to come with us for questioning." Both guards grabbed her arms and a third grabbed her legs as she began to kick out, screaming unholy curses at them. Most definitely making quite the scene there.

"You're making a mistake! I don't know what happened!" Tessa protested loudly.

"Be quiet. That's for the councilors to decide." one of the guards said sternly.

So Tessa was dragged away kicking and screaming while the people stared on puzzled and afraid now that one of their own had been killed, a murderer obviously on the loose. Some already thought Tessa was to blame and fingers were pointed at her in accusation as she was led away by the patrolmen. "Serves her right." an old woman with short greying hair muttered under her breath.

Meanwhile forensics were already at the scene, being called in by the guard captain while Tessa was being interrogated earlier to analyze the situation. While the true killer was out there somewhere, no doubt content to make the people believe poor Tessa was at fault here for a gun she didn't even own and a man she didn't even kill. It was safe to say Tessa's mildly bad day was turning into an outright crappy one for her. After all, both pieces of evidence did point to her.

[ARAD V1.0]

The first part of the plan was complete. Notable target eliminated. The policing force would be busy and occupied with investigzting the murder and keeping the piece. Somewhere on an undisclosed location, Arad rammed hisbhand through a transformer box, pulling out all manners of wires. The electricity only leaving scorchmarks and a renewed battery. With a swift glance behind him, he saw his company were the only two dead guards. Yet. For the entire district, the lights slowly died down. Step two completed.

In the holing cell and generally the station of the local police force Tessa was in, darkness fell. A power outage. Yet. Only after several minutes, gunfire and shouting resounded through the halls. But it only lessened. The shooting diminished and the shouting died down. And soon, an eerie silence descended upon the station.

[Stardancer]

Having been taken to a holding cell in the local police station, her sword, flare gun and other belongings having been confiscated and stored in a locked vault in the main office, Tessa sat in a corner completely glum. Not to mention still angry about this whole stupid deal. Of course she was scared. Not just about the fact that a man had been murdered and a killer was on the loose, but what exactly would happen to her in the meantime.

So the brunette sat there stewing and nervously chewing her fingernails, wondering how she was going to get out of this mess. Then that was when the power went out. First an electrical surge, then several pops sounded and then the entire area was bathed in thick darkness. Jumping up, she ran over to the bars and banged her fists on them, and not for the first time. "Let me out! I haven't done anything wrong! I have rights like anyone else!"

No one answered her this time. The last several times she had been told to shut up and be quiet. Now there was nothing. Nothing except...the sounds of gunfire and shouts which were steadily increasing in volume as they got nearer. Freaked out by this, she dashed into a corner and curled up into a tight ball as though to avoid any possible stray hits her way. Tessa wasn't sure how long she stayed there like that, head covered by her arms, knees folded in front of her chest. All she knew was that the fighting and shouts had died down and now everything was deathly quiet. Tessa didn't like it. It reminded her of a tomb. And it was still dark as heck.

Getting up slowly and warily, she felt her way through the darkness back over to where the bars were, feeling the cold metal underneath her palms. Trying to pierce through the pitch black around her, her eyes darted around nervously. "Hello?" she called out, at first uncertain. "Hello?! Anyone here?!" she called out much more loudly.

Only silence greeted her like a dark lover, wrapping her in its quiet, still embrace.

[ARAD V1.0]

Arad let out a low snarl as he walked past the corpses. Soon there'd be backup. The confusion from the power outage would delay them enough for Arad to be able to ask question. Namely. Syndicate targets. He wanted to destroy them all. Make them regret each test, each experiment.

Slow, metal footsteps resounded through the wall. Before they stopped. Because of Tessa's calls. With a mechanical growl, the droid sought out the source of the sound, before standing before the bars of Tessa's holding cell.

A metal body, lit by ominous red lights. With a loud sheen and a buzz, the laserblades slid out of his arms. And within an instant, the bars dropped down, cleanly sliced into several pieces. And with a low snarl, the combat droid turned around again, stopping at a door. A window next to it.

He stabbed his blade through the wall and sliced forward. An officer stumbling forward, wiping blood on the window in his last dying moments. Ice cold. Calculated and efficient. And so, the droid proceeded on his walk towards his third target.

[Stardancer]

Quiet. Dark tendrils of shadows danced along the walls as her eyes began to adjust to the pitch black of it all. Then an eerie sound reached her ears. That of clanking metal. Steady, but sure footsteps that sounded like someone clad head to toe in metal armor from ages past. And for a few seconds that is what she thought it was. Until the figure appeared before her in the dark, ominous, creepy red lights blinking and glowing in regular intervals on a humanoid body.

Tessa shrieked and jumped back in the cell upon seeing this and dove for cover in the corner. The sound of metal unsheathing made her whimper in fear before the bars to her cell were sliced open like ribbons on a gift being cut open, the clank of metal pieces falling to the ground very unceremoniously. Daring to look up, she saw that the creature or whatever the frick it was had moved on. And more importantly....she was free. The opening to her cell yawned before her like the kiss of freedom like a glass of cold water on a hot day. Tessa's mouth opened, forming an 'o' in surprise. But she waited until the thing had left before making her way to the doorway.

Peering out and looking around the corner. Stepping out into the hallway, she heard the grunt and wet noise of someone gasping in pain before a bloodied hand streaked across a nearby window, a male face gazing back in utter agony before he fell dead on the other side of it. Shrieking again as she was met face to face with the robotic creature thing again and jumped back. "Don't kill me please!" she threw her hands in front of her face as though that would help matters. "I am no danger to you!" she peeked between her fingers to look at the metal being before her, cringing as she met what constituted its eyes. Glowing orbs of not-human is what she saw. "I am just leaving?" those last words came out more like a question than anything else.

[ARAD V1.0]

Arad wiped the blood of his blade and swatted his hand. Slowly snarling. The human he had priorly freed now stood before him. Foolish. Back-up would be here soon. And they'd most likely shoot whatever still moves. "Fear.." Arad muttered at Tessa's plea. Fear. One of the most basic instincts. The woman seemed to be at the odds of 89 percent flight to the 11 percent of fight. A small estimation. Calculating odds. And it seems she had decided flught.

Slowly. Arad snarled to her and walked past her. "You are leaving." Was what he said with a toneless, synthetic voice.