Clans of Garrus (STARTED! Still accepting applicants)

[revolverwolf]

Em was a pain at times. "At times" in this case meant "Right now" as she wandered off to talk to some random, shady character off in a side alley as if it was the smartest thing to do in their current situation. Honestly, sometimes these people were idiotic beyond comprehension... Hammond rolled his eyes and sighed exaggeratively.

She came back after finishing whatever business she had with whoever that man was (not that Hammond was paying attention any more. His mind had gone to sleep), allowing them to continue on to an inn. It had been far too long since Hammond had slept in a bed; this would be a welcome opportunity to rest up. Not that he could just find an inn like any normal, sighted person. No, fate wouldn't be nearly that kind to him.

He looked around, hoping an inn would present itself soon. And it did. It presented itself in the form of an inn sign swinging right towards him from nowhere. He sidestepped, avoiding the sign as it swung violently through his afterimage.

Whatever... He'd found an inn, finally. Someone else could do all the talking and buying, he just wanted to get to a bed and sleep.

 

[revolverwolf]

As Ari had been paying, Hammond had been making sure to not say anything or attract attention. He had learned to steer clear of innkeepers by this point.

A stranger bumped into him and he felt something slide into a pocket along with a few faint words from the stranger, "Open it when you're alone." The stranger rushed off as quickly as he had appeared, leaving Hammond to look around in mild confusion. Was he meant to trust this? It was so obvious as a trap that he almost thought that it must have been one. Only his curiosity prevented him from throwing it away at that moment.

He paid for his room and went up, deciding to open it as soon as he entered. It was a small metallic looking device and it popped open to reveal a small holographic image of a suited man, reciting it's message.

"I have reason to believe that someone is going to attempt to break into one of my R&D companies tonight and steal several proprietary items for one of my competitors. I will pay you 900 llum if you catch the thief. If you're are interested then go to room 333 at 9:00 and knock 6 times. Further instructions will be given upon arrival, should you accept."

 

[sky14kemea]

As the others went inside to get rooms for the night, Em stayed by Shale's cart. She took a quick look around to make sure it was safe, then took out the papers the strange man had given her. On one of the pages was instructions, with a small list of items that Em didn't recognise. On the other page was a map.

"Weird... It looks easy enough to follow though." Em said, folding the papers up again and tucking them into her cloak pocket. After a few minutes, Ari came back out with the good news.

"Woo! Cheap rooms! Thanks Ari, you're the best." Em said cheerfully, giving her a quick hug before rushing off to pay for her room. She quickly said goodnight to Hammond and Savannah before running up the stairs to her room.

The room was fairly clean, although a bit small. Em barely noticed as she headed straight for the window, opening it as wide as she could and looking down into the street.

"Hmm... Second floor isn't bad. I could just land on that cart if the guy doesn't move it." She mumbled to herself.

She waited for an hour, occaisonally pacing around the room, until she was sure the others would all be in their rooms. Making sure she had all the things she needed, Em leaped out of the window and landed on the cart below. The horse attached to it whinnied in annoyance, but stayed where it was.

She went round to the stables, where Shale's cart was. The lizard seemed to be sleeping, so she left a small note sticking out of the cart that had been parked next to him. Em then tiptoed back out, and set off towards the location on her map.

Spoiler: ooc

sorry, that sucked didnt it? xD

 

[revolverwolf]

It was about 9 o'clock now so Hammond set off to room 333, still curious as to what the point of all this was. When he reached the door he knocked six times, just like the hologram had instructed him to, and then he heard sounds from inside. A few steps. Shuffling. Then a piece of paper slid underneath the door and the sounds all went quiet. Weird.

He picked up the paper, scanning it quickly. It had more information about the payment and, luckily, a set of directions to the place he was supposed to be protecting. Apparently he would be able to split the money with whoever he decided on taking along with him. 900 llum between 4 of them? It wouldn't work. He could just leave someone behind. Guess who we can't be bothered to bring along. I'll give you a clue! It starts with S and has too many fuckin' hats!

He decided to go get Em first. She'd be the easiest to convince. He knocked on her door and it opened a little. He looked around the room confusedly. Okay, where the fuck is she? We don't need her to be running around being a nuisance before we even know our way around. Maybe... hiding in a closet? No... Outside? Still no. At the bar? No, yet again.

He begrudgingly gave up with wondering where Em had run off to, thinking it best to bring Savannah along rather than wander around looking for the thief. But first he could go fetch Ari. She might be a bit less likely to agree than Em would be but he had a feeling she'd accept. He knocked on her door, waiting for a reply.

 

[revolverwolf]

"Em has disappeared from her room for no reason and with no notice, but I didn't come all the way here and knock on your door just to tell you that. There's something far more interesting I need to show you." He pulled the small holographic device from his pocket, warranting a look that he thought might have hung between confusion and bemusement from the beastmaster.

"I could play you the message on the device and waste time, but long story short is that we can get paid for stopping some people from stealing a few items. You feel like coming along?"

 

[revolverwolf]

"Not yet. I thought he would be more easily convinced if I already had you with me."

Ari nodded wordlessly and they continued to Savannah's room, knocking loudly on his door. Savannah opened the door and, through a surprisingly painless conversation between them, agreed to come along with them as well.

---

It wasn't long before they found their way to the CFI Research and Development building using the directions.

The three got closer to the front door and some guards stopped them. Hammond stepped forwards once more, pulling the holographic device from his pocket and holding it out to one of the guards, "Your boss hired us. You can let us through."

The guards exchanged glances for a moment and then allowed them through, with one of the guards leading them up to the second floor.

 

[sky14kemea]

This is fun! Almost like an adventure. Em thought to herself, running down a dark alley towards the place on her map. And that guy who gave me directions was so friendly too. She stopped outside a tall, creepy looking building. It didn't seem to match the rest of the city.

"This must be the place." Em said, putting her map away and put on some gloves.

'Wait wait, you're not seriously considering climbing this wall by hand are you?' A nagging voice in her head asked.

Well I kinda forgot a rope... Or any kind of equipment besides the basics. Don't worry, I'm awesome at wall climbing! She thought in her head, taking her enchanted daggers out of their sheaths. They glowed for a few moments, and Em slowly faded away until she was completely invisible. She put one of them back in it's sheath, and began climbing the wall. She managed to reach the 4th floor before stopping.

"Whew... this is hard." Em panted, taking a small break on the windowsill. She tried to look inside but it was too dark to see anything. "Well, one more to go!"

Em put the second dagger away and leapt as high as she could, her fingertips scrabbling onto the windowsill above. She dragged herself up slowly, almost losing her footing several times, before she made it up. Opening the window slowly, Em winced as it creaked and juddered around.

"Stupid old windows making so much noise..." She muttered, before tumbling inside. She wiggled around on the floor for a moment, caught up her cloak, before jumping back up. Luckily the corridor seemed to be empty. Spotting a sign that said "Security", Em tiptoed to the door and slowly pushed it open.

The inside of the room seemed to be covered in computers and switchboards. Wires crossed all over the floor, making a visible path to a large control unit. Only one guard was sat there, with a pair of strange looking goggles on his head. He had his feet propped up on the other chair, and seemed to be watching one of the monitors idly. Em sneaked up behind him, slowly pulling a dart out of her pocket. As she took another step closer, the floor creaked slightly and the guard glanced behind him. She quickly threw the dart at his neck, and he slumped in his chair.

"Success!" Em whispered, moving the guard away from the controls. She admired the goggles on his head for a minute. 'Those things look awesome... I'm sure he won't miss them.'. She slipped the goggles off his head and put them around her neck, before turning her attention back to the controls. She saw one switch that seemed to be for the cameras, but it looked out of place. Like it had been installed after the console had been built.

'Hit the switch! It totally works.' The voice dared her.

'Ha! Yeah right, that's just what my subconscience wants me to think.' Em kept looking, ignoring the first switch. However there were so many buttons that her heart began to sink... She started from one end, working her way across until the figured out which one controlled the security system. "Aha!" Em said in triumph, as she reached out to turn the switch. Her hand was hovering over it before she noticed something strange.

'Wait, where are the other guards? I'm sure there were some on these cameras earlier.' She thought. Searching for the security switch had distracted her from making sure no one else knew she was here. She quickly grabbed her daggers again, and they glowed once more. 'Just to be safe...'

Spoiler: OOC

Cliffhanger!! Also my writing is awful, so Im gonna break it up so the others can post. 'cause you just know I'm gonna take another week. xD

 

[sky14kemea]

Em flipped the security switch, causing a few lights on the control panel to fade out. Just as she was making her way toward a vent in the corner, the door behind her clicked open. She flinched and quickly reached for her darts, but as Em spun around ready to aim, she was greeted by an empty doorway.

Well that's odd... Did it open by itself? Em wondered. Over the sound of her heart beating, she could hear the sound of very faint footsteps. On a hunch, Em searched her pockets for the goggles she obtained earlier, and quickly put them on. Although her vision was now interrupting by small waves of static, she could definitely see two outlines wandering around the room.

Oh shit! Em quickly darted the nearest figure, watching it fall to the floor with a loud thump. The other figure noticed and quickly turned to see Em become visible once more. As she fumbled for a second dart, a large fist blocked her view, knocking her backwards.

"Owww! My face! You hit me in the face!" Em groaned, as the figure moved towards her for a second hit. She threw a dart in it's general direction, and heard another satisfying thud as she adjusted the goggles on her face. After making sure the door was closed. She rolled the guards into a corner and focused her attention back on the vent.

"Lockpicking time!" Em said cheerfully, grabbing some of her lockpicking tools and crouching down to get a better look. She fiddled around for a while, become more and more aware of how much time she was wasting. After a few long minutes, she managed to get all the screws off and crawled through the vent.

As she peered through the other side of the vent, she spotted two more grainy figures. She assumed these were guards. Although what kinda guards have awesome invisibility powers? Em though, making her way backwards to the security room.

"There's gotta be a way to get rid of those other guards." Em thought, concentrating all her energy into a plan. As if she'd been hit by a lightning bolt made of brilliance, she started flipping switches one after the other. She could hear the faint hiss of gas seeping into the vault room, and managed to reset the security feed to make it seem like it had been running diagnostics instead of recording the current events.

There's gonna be repurcussions for you being so smart, you know that right? The voice taunted in her head, but Em ignored it. She made her way back through the vent, tying a rag around her face just in case there was still some gas lingering around.

In the middle of the room, she saw a small computer chip delicately placed on a pedestal. She grabbed a small pouch from her pockets and carefully slid the chip into it, before tucking it safely in her belt.

One down, two to go. Maybe I can pull this off after all! She thought, smiling confidently and she made her way back through the vent yet again.

Spoiler: ooc

Oh shit I posted D: ... Im gonna write the rest in advance this time... Instead of leaving it a month -o- sorry guys....

 

[sky14kemea]

Em made her way down some narrow corridors, making sure to check all the signs so she didn't get lost. She slowly entered one of the labs, looking around for any hidden guards.

"Coast is clear, now where's that crystal doo-dad." Em mumbled, walking past lots of generic beakers and jars. She saw lots of fancy machinery in the second half of the room, and a few cases lying on the desk. Most of the cases were empty, but one had a small crystal in, just like the one described on her checklist.

"Huh, that's lucky.." Em said, closing the case and tucking it under her am. She quickly made her way out again, checking her pocket watch to see how much time had gone by.

I sure hope those guards don't wake up soon. She opened the door of the second lab, once again checking for any hidden guards. As Em scanned the room she noticed a huge cabinet with a sign saying 'Hazardous Material' on it. She practically skipped over, looking at all the vials and jars of strange liquids.

"Man, this could take a while... and those guards are gonna wake up any minute! Unless..." Em segued her way back into the security room, giving the guards in there another dose of sleeping darts. She practically ran back to the lab, panting for breath as she pressed her face against the glass doors.

"Wheech wun eez eet?" Em mumbled to the glass. She sighed and removed her face from the door, then opened both doors to get a closer look. After picking up countless vials, she managed to find one labelled 'paralysing agent'. She even spotted a few cases that seemed to be the right fit for the vial on her way back out of the lab.

Em walked over to a window, opened it, and leaned her head out. She grimaced as she saw how far away from the ground she was. "I'm gonna need me some rope." She said to herself, backtracing her steps to a supply closet near the vault. She grabbed some rope and wandered back over to the window again.

After securing all the items she'd gathered, she tied one end of the rope to the handle on the window, and climbed up onto the ledge. She started absailing her way down, before she realised something.

"Hmm, maybe I should've tied the other end around my wa-AAAAAAAGH" Em's ramblings caused her to lose her grip on the rope, and she fell down into a dumpster below. Aside from a bad smell and a sense of shame, nothing seemed to have been damaged. She clumsily climbed out of the dumpster, and made her way back to the Inn.

Em soon spotted the familiar sign of the Inn, and went to rip up the note on Geo's cart before returning back to her room. She gave a friendly wave to the bartender as she passed, though he was too busy staring at her dirtied clothes to return the gesture.

 

[revolverwolf]

Hammond arrived just in time to see Ari take down the enemy. With a discontented sigh he lowered his scythes to his side. "Good to see you've got things under control over here."

"We need to make sure the vault's safe." Ari pulled her new-found goggles over her eyes.

"I didn't see anyone on the way here, so I assume..."

"They're cloaked. You could have missed them."

Cloaked? Well shit, they could have been walking around in front of us this whole time. No wonder it was so quiet. Hammond nodded and they set off back towards the vault. They met no resistance on the way, though Hammond wasn't sure whether to be glad for it now. Enemies could be waiting to ambush from anywhere.

 

[revolverwolf]

There are vents into the vault? Hammond rolled his eyes. I'm starting to think they don't even want these things to be safe. He drew his scythes, ready to defend himself if someone attacked.

A shot rang out through the vents above and a section noisily collapsed, sending a sprawling invisible man crashing into the floor. He was sprawled across the floor, but all Hammond could see was a patch of blood hovering just above the ground. Admittedly it was a vague area to aim for, but he'd make it work. He raised his scythes above his head and brought them down on the invisible man, sending a very visible spray of blood everywhere.

"So that went about as well as could be expected." Hammond shook his scythes a little, trying to get what little remained of the thief to shake loose. "Now, what do we do with the other guy?"

 

[revolverwolf]

After Ari had gone off to check on the unconscious thief, Hammond decided to stay in the vault. Maybe there were more people around, waiting to steal stuff as soon as they left? Yep, that's why he stayed. Definitely not to loot the corpse. Especially not for whatever was giving the thief invisibility.

Hammond was wrestling with his reluctance to mess with technology he couldn't see. Even visible technology deserves a bit of caution when messing with it, so invisible technology deserves a thousand times more.

It's good they had us here. Whoever the hell 'they' are, they're doing a shit job with security. Who says I wouldn't have just taken their gadgets for myself anyway...?

Ha. As if that was going to happen. Hammond actually had a good thing going here; all this psuedo-heroism wasn't an awful way to get money. It was a lot better than random mercenary work. Even if the people he was with were sometimes annoying, they were better than other mercenaries. He couldn't see much of a downside to this sort of work at this point.

So the downside thought it would pay him a visit.

The invisible corpse on the floor appeared in an instant, complete with a beeping suit. The sound reminded him vaguely of the beeping the device on his shoe had made before it had teleported him against his wishes, so obviously he felt it would be in his best interest to get out of there pretty quickly. And then he saw explosives.

...Shit...

He was out of the vault before Savannah could even start running, and it took only a fraction of a second for him to follow. All Hammond's mind could conjure was expletives umpteen times a second. Savannah was running behind him, Shale had darted off as soon as the first beep had sounded and Ari was ahead of them by a good distance. But however fast they were running, there was no way they were getting to the front door in time.