Murder Drones: The Elliot Manor

"Ugh. These useless scraps from the junkyard. Honestly, I don't know WHAT you see in them, Tessa!"
Her mother rattled off in a pompous tone.
"Were it not for their usefulness in basic chores, I'd see them thrown out!


Tessa had learned some time ago to let her mother get these fits out of her system, rather than trying to get her to calm down or stop... It didn't exactly make it any less unpleasant to deal with, though.

Her mother looks down at the recently damaged Drone, a disapproving expression on her face. Nonetheless, she lets out a sigh.

"Well, I suppose we ought to send the thing in for repairs. Just put it in a box and ship it off, then."

She declares, waving her fan in the air as though she were trying to shoo the sight away. Tessa lifts her head.

"No!"
Tessa replies, and freezes up for a moment as her mother narrows her eyes. But she quickly recovers and elaborates;
"I just mean... Sending packages like the commoners? It's rather undignified, don't you think? We should have them send a specialist here to fix it for us!"

Her mother's gaze softens slightly, as she fans herself slowly in contemplation.

"Hmm... Uncharacteristically correct of you. Very well! We shall have them come to us!"

With that, her mother turns and leaves, and Tessa gives a small sigh of relief, before her gaze turns towards the Drone on the floor, and her expression fills with regret and concern. She gets onto her knees next to it.

"Sorry, buddy... But we'll get you fixed up! You'll be good as new!"

She muttered softly, before she begins to pick up the Worker Drone. She stumbles slightly as she gets to her feet, but soon steadies herself out. Then she begins to move it out of the way from her mother -- and the rest of her eccentric family.

Yes, that is how JCJensen received a call from the Elliot Manor, and an immediate request for one of their finest Engineers for Drone Repairs -- and apparently it involved more than one Drone, too...

---

"Yes, this is the Elliot Manor! We demand that you send one of your Engineers to our abode post-haste! We've a number of Drones that need repairs and we shan't be sending them through the mail like the common peasants!"

"Hey dude, I hear you loud and clear!"

"I beg your pardon?!"

"It's our goal here to provide excellent customer service! And I believe I've got just the right guy for the job!"

"Well... That is more like it. We can expect him soon, then?"

"Correct-a-mundo, my dude! If you have any further questions about this radio transmission, then just uh, call back and say "Dude, I've got some questions." Okay. Going to call him now."

And after some quick adjustments, and an answer from the other end...

"Hello, yo, can you hear me? Hello.
What's going on, dude?"

And presumably after Ray tells him to get to the point already...

"Yo, I hear you dude, calm down. Got a job for you down at the Elliot Manor! Got some Drones that need fixin', so yeah. Get ready, they're demanding an Engineer fast."

One might expect a company as wide spread and domineering as J.C. Jensen to be professional 24/7...And in most branches (Excluding RT3) that is true! But for the Service and Repair center that wasn't always the case...Indeed, most of the J.C. Jensen (In Spaaaace!) certified technicians were lazing around right now, either watching tv, lounging back in their chairs waiting for calls, or both.


The young and impressionable Ray Rights however, was far more eager than the others, and tended to get stuck with the "problem" jobs nobody else wanted to do...But at least he got a break now and then. He was just sitting down to eat his lunch at the moment when he suddenly got a call, causing him to flinch in surprise and almost throw his food onto the floor.

"W-Whoa...!"

The young technician quickly set his food down before hastily picking up the phone and answering it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, yo, can you hear me? Hello.
What's going on, dude?"

"Vic? I was just about to eat lunch. Um...Not to be pushy but do you think you can just tell me what you want me to do instead of running around...?"

"Yo, I hear you dude, calm down. Got a job for you down at the Elliot Manor! Got some Drones that need fixin', so yeah. Get ready, they're demanding an Engineer fast."

Upon hearing the name "Elliot Manor", one of the other technicians snickered. His name tag revealed his identity as a certified technician by the name of "Jason". His feet were propped up on a nearby desk as he lounged into an office chair, a smug look on his face.

"Yeah, good luck rookie. You're gonna need it."

One of the other technicians stood up as he overheard Vic's instructions. An older seasoned technician that was a little less of an asshole. His name tag carried the name "Anderson".

"Now now Vic, Ray doesn't need to hear all of this. He's a highly trained professional."

Ray tilted his head slightly as he looked at the other technicians. He shook his head, answering back.

"I'll be there as quickly as I can."

He wasted no time in gathering his equipment for the job, though the others spoke to him as he did so.

"What, you really don't know? The Elliots are the new employee killers! Almost everybody who answers calls from them end up quitting after they finish the job there!"

Another technician chimed in.

"I think you're exaggerating a little...But, the Elliots are...Eccentric. And demanding...Just keep your chin up and you'll be fine Rookie."

"Jason" added his own two cents as he mocked.

"Yeah, and if not, I guess you can always start looking for a new job. I hear one of those exo-planets is looking for technicians! Maybe you'll get to visit exciting new places like Copper-9! Hah!"


Ray had arrived at the estate belonging to the mansion. To say it was dreary would be an understatement. Who in their right mind would build a mansion in the middle of a swamp?! At least he had a map with attached photographs to lead him there, an especially helpful guide considering part of the journey had to be made on foot due to the roads being underdeveloped. Apparently they did most of their traveling by air...Although where they could fit a landing site in this place escaped the fledgling technician.

"Looks like this is the place..."


Ray stared down at the photograph of the mansion, a picture taken during a much sunnier, brighter day. He then lowered the photograph to look up at the real thing...Right as a bolt of lightning struck in the sky behind the mansion. The overcast sky and thunderstorm looming in the distance definitely made him briefly consider whether he should just run in the other direction...But Ray swallowed hard, gripping his hands tightly and steeling himself as he stepped through the iron gates. He slowly walked up to the mansion's entrance, though before he could even knock, the large double doors creaked open...A worker drone clad in a maid outfit stood there, silently greeting him as though his presence was already known. The young technician hesitated for a moment as he stared at the drone...But stepped through the doors, glancing behind him to see her shutting them behind him.


"The units are this way. Please Follow me."

The maid began to calmly walk down the hall, prompting for him to follow. He did so without saying a word, though all of this felt a little strange to him...They passed by an open door that seemed to lead to a library. Ray couldn't help glancing into the room as they passed by. He took notice of a strange maid drone that was currently reading to herself. The technician raised an eyebrow in confusion. Was it just reading to someone...? He couldn't see the whole room from where he was. He shook his head, brushing that off...Although before he could look ahead of himself, he ended up accidentally bumping into someone, throwing himself off balance as he stumbled backwards.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I-"

He glanced upwards to see it was none other than the head of the Manor, Tessa's father. The man leaned forward, glaring at him.

"And just WHO are you?! You certainly don't look like an invited guest!"

Ray fell backwards onto the floor in shock as the man yelled at him. The technician scrambled away slightly pushing himself back with his hands.

"Uah! I'm sorry!! I-I'm here because you called for a technician sir!!!"

The maid confirmed his statement.

"He's here for the repairs to our damaged units, Sir."

The man harumphed, crossing his arms as he stood up straight.

"Of course. The defective ones...Well boy, don't keep us waiting. I should hope for your sake that you can also give these useless frumpleninks some CULTURE while you're at it! They still have yet to understand the difference between Baroque and Renaissance!"

Ray slowly got back up to his feet, dusting himself off as the master of the mansion walked away. Although...He briefly wondered if "frumplenink" was an actual term...in any case, the maid drone finished leading him to the room where the damaged drones had been stored, she opened the door and stepped aside.

"They're in here."

And of course, there was yet another Technician whose nametag had "Coomer" emblazoned on it. He chimed in with a purposely exaggerated tone of voice.

"They're waiting for you, Ray.
In the Manooooor."

Yeah, seems like this specific place definitely made the rumor mill...

---

As Ray was making his way through the Manor, he was able to peek into the library for just a moment. It was another one of the Maid Drones. One got the sense that this one was a bit different, even from the one that was currently leading Ray to where he needed to be.

The small, seemingly sheepish Worker Drone looks up from her book. Her round glasses becoming more apparent as she glanced over at him. She hesitated for a moment, and raised a hand to wave to him... Shortly thereafter, though, Ray has a run-in with Tessa's father...

Yes... The Elliots were eccentric, that was the polite way to put it, as he was very well learning just now.

As the door is opened and Ray steps inside, he's greeted with the sight of quite a few Worker Drones, all lined up and damaged. It seems that incidents happened quite frequently. Just as one could begin to wonder if anyone even bothered to try and fix them...


He would spot a girl, currently trying to do just that. Although she seemed to have an idea of how to work with these Drones, it was also apparent that she had a lot to learn... She had this thing laid out on a table, and she was trying to fiddle with getting the delicate parts back into place, despite the extensive damage.

Case in point: A spring is launched out of the damaged Worker Drone.

"Oh, son of a biscuit baker!"
She frantically flails her hands, trying to catch the spring. It ends up batted and swatted around in the air, but eventually she manages to catch it.

"Gotcha! Ya slippery little-..."

She then pauses, doing a double-take as she spots Ray. She blinks, then immediately straightens out.

"Uhh-hello! You must be the Technician from JCJensen, right?"

She begins to step around the table -- and then turns and quickly sets the spring down as she remembers that was still in her hand -- then she turns back to him and approaches.

"Because I could really use some help right now. I'm in over my head!"

Well, at least she was honest...

Still, as she looked him over, she also realized that he was about the same age as herself... The wheels begin turning in her head. Something which Ray can probably tell.

Although due to the distance between them it was hard to tell, it looked as though that Maid ended up giving him a small smile when he returned the wave.
(Foreshadowing!)

But now, he was with Tessa! And he lets a blunt comment fly -- It prompts a brief chuckle out of the girl.
"Mate, I wish! They're downright abusive to the poor things!"

And then she clears her throat, trying to act a little bit more ladylike. It was easy for it to slip when it concerned her interests, after all.
"Yeah... I try and do what I can to fix them up, but I swear it's like they find the most creative and extensive ways to break them."

Still, as he made his way over to the table, she'd do the same, joining him from the opposite end. Now, Ray was a little bit awkward, this was true. But that's okay!

Because it's time for Quick Maths with Tessa!

Tessa liked working with Drones + she wanted to get into an actual career involving them.
Ray = has a career working with Drones + shares an interest with Tessa!

So: Ray + Tessa + her Drones - her Family = Happy Life!

Hmhmhmhm. All you need to do is turn on the good ol' Elliot charm! Delightfully devilish, Tessa!

She gives him a smile and pays special attention to what he's saying and showing her. Both out of genuine interest to learn how to care for her Drones, and... Well, follow the math equations from before.

"Wow... You know, you're very good with your hands."

She remarks, adjusting the top of her dress a bit -- as though she was trying to flash a bit of cleavage, while she moves her other hand towards his, to gently hold it. And yes, she was blushing despite her attempts to be particularly alluring right now.

"Totally hypothetical question here. But, do you suppose anyone would notice or care if I were to just say... Hitch a ride with you and bring my Drones along?"

She asks, and after Ray answers (presumably with a yes), she follows with;

"Right. But do you think like... It would be all "Oh, what's she up to this time?", or... Authorities getting involved?"

Atta girl, Tessa! He'll fall head over heels for you, and then the two of you can live happily ever after with a collection of Drones!

And if he needs a bit more convincing, well, then you just have to REALLY turn up the charm!

... This was probably going to be a long day for Ray.

Tessa ended up nodding in agreement with his assessment regarding Drones -- and the treatment that some people put them through!

"It does! I don't get why my family has it out for them. I think they're a lot of fun, myself."

But even more importantly... It seemed as though her attempts to flirt with him were working, as she was drawing out details of his personal life! Pay close attention and take notes of everything, Tessa! This was all really important!

But then he suddenly stops himself, and clears his throat. That is what had ended up prompting her to try and be a little more forward. She was trying to play up that she was very interested in learning about him -- and to be fair, it's not like he was uninteresting. He was working with Drones!

That might as well have been the coolest thing in her book! But... What the heck was this? He wasn't even trying to sneak a peek at her chest, and he barely reacted to her moving her hand over his!

Alright, Tessa! Obviously you have to kick it up a notch! He just asked for your name, so... She gives him another smile, stepping around the table and coming a bit closer to him.

"Lady Tessa James Elliot. But you can call me Tessa, handsome."
She introduces herself, and soon follows with;
"I'm sure a young, strapping certified JCJensen Technician such as yourself could whisk me and my Drones away from all of this~..."

Still... Her hypothetical question didn't seem to land as she had hoped, despite her best efforts. True... They would probably notice... And then as he thought about her father -- Tessa thought about BOTH of her parents. Yes... Authorities would absolutely get involved.

He'd be arrested for kidnapping and theft! Okay. Time to re-evaluate the situation, Tessa! First- oh, wait. He said that she could just leave whenever she wanted, didn't he?

She lets out a small sigh.

"I wish it were that simple. But I don't really have a place to go. And while Drones may not need to eat or drink, I still do. So a job is still kiiiiind of necessary."
Tessa points out.

...But she's not one to give up yet!

"Okay, then... What if you were to court me first?"

She then steps closer to him -- yes, trying to press her breasts against his chest.
"After all, if it's official, then there's no crime! I'd just be moving in with you!"

Surely he can't miss this, Tessa! You're using your sweater puppies and everything! But just in case... Keep your final move ready! You'll have him fall for you yet, your future happiness depends on it!

Aha! He's blushing now! You're making headway after all!

"Well, I'm sure we could figure that sort of thing out together..."
She replies, hoping to egg him on despite his reservations.

But, fortunately, he does come up with a topic of conversation that earns him just a bit of breathing room right now -- he talks about how she must have favorite Drones, and also remarks in hopefulness that they're not in this room right now.

Tessa smiles, losing track of her plan to seduce the Technician.

"Oh yes. I've got three favorites! There's N. Darling little thing, loves to do anything! Then there's J -- she's my best friend. And of course, V."
She then leans in, whispering to Ray.
"Bit of a programming quirk with V. She has trouble seeing without glasses. I don't get how it works, but I make sure she always has a pair."

She hadn't intended to get sidetracked like this, but hey, maybe it was just the thing needed to prove that they had a reason to get together! He does apologize for his suggestion that she just leaves, though.

"Ah, don't worry about it, ma-. I mean. Handsome."
She corrects herself, now trying to put the charm back on it.
"Of course, if you'd like to make it up to me~..."

Before she can get too far into another attempt at seduction, he then suggests a more immediate course of action that she could take. Apparently JCJensen doesn't ask too many questions as long as you look convincingly like an adult!

Well hey, if he passed, then she could too! But she wasn't quite going to give up on this plan yet either...

Ray tried to back away from her, but he only had so much space to go. She gives him a cheeky smile as she leans into him.

"Aw, I'm sure we can overlook a silly little rule like that."
She then grabs one of his arms, and moves his hand to her hip (really, more of her cheek than her hip...). For the other hand, she begins to interlock fingers with him.

"Just think about it. Four girls."
She offers, then quickly adds;
"Or, you know. One girl, if you're not into Drones. Or you're into monogamy. But still."
She looks away briefly, as she slightly fumbles that one, but nonetheless, she turns her gaze back to him, and keeps the pressure up!

"Oh, we don't take up that much space! And we could keep the place clean for you!"

She was relentless! But if Ray could get through the metaphorical final boss here, she might just let up after all...

But that would be difficult (at least by Tessa's estimation), as she now looks at him with half-lidded eyes, and purses her lips, as if waiting for him to be fully drawn in by her charms and kiss her!

"Oh, yeah. I kinda struggle with names, if I'm being honest with you..."
Tessa replies, giving a bit of a sheepish smile now.

But it seemed like Ray didn't mind that -- and he even saw one of the ones she was referring to!
"Ooooh. In the Library, right? Yeah, she and N like to read things."

And even more importantly than just seeing one of them, he even talks about how important it is to keep the individuality, instead of just replacing several parts to do away with the problem.

"I'm glad you think the same way! I know a lot of people just view them as appliances, but I like V and her programming quirk. It wouldn't feel quite right to get rid of that."

Ahh... But he was a slippery little eel, that's for sure! That slip-up was enough for him to suggest that he could just fix her drones and call it even. True, she found that hard to argue with. It'd be a bit much if she tried to suggest that he had to do more than that...

But dammit, she wanted to get out of this place, along with her favorites! Ideally she could take every Drone with her, but she could settle for just her favorites...

So how come he wasn't falling for her right now? I mean, he didn't even try to get a handful of her rump! And... Oh. He was flustered about Humans and Drones? It was taboo? Quickly, he deflects by saying he's not part of RT3!

But Tessa tries to hold onto the last bit of hope there is in this!

"But you could be! We could be! We could be in RT3 together! Whatever that is!"

Yeah, that was probably not helping... Then N showed up, and that gave Ray the opening he needed to roll over the table and out of Tessa's grasp. He quickly declares that he wasn't thinking about holding hands with a Drone.

Tessa then lets out a groan.

"Uuugghh. Blast it all! Of course I'd end up with the one bloody guy that doesn't fall for me no matter how hot and heavy I try to seduce 'im!"
She finally lets the ladylike persona slip entirely. Then she plays with one of the straps on her dress -- bouncing her chest in the process.
"I mean, what is it? Are they too small?"

She asks Ray, holding her other hand out to him, as if asking him to hand her an explanation.

But, ultimately, she takes a deep breath, and lets out a sigh.

"Ahhh... I'm sorry, mate. I'm eager to get out of this place... Guess a little too eager."
She explains, finally acting a little bit more normal -- or, normal for an Elliot, in any case...

With that, she glances over at N.

"This here is the Technician, N. We'll be getting everyone fixed up again!"

She then declares with a smile. With that, she turns her attention to Ray again.

"Look, I'm willing to er... Forget everything that happened just now if you are. I'm just worried about them."

Tessa then gestures to N -- and implies her other favorites in the process...

"I don't really care what my family does to me. They've never seriously hurt me, but... I don't think I could take it if one of them ended up in here and I couldn't help them."

With that admission out of the way, she straightens herself out.

"So, I'd like to learn everything I can from you, then I'll look into JCJensen, just like ya said! ... And... If you change your mind... We'd appreciate it."

At least now Ray could focus on his job, even if Tessa was still hopeful that he might play along to get them all out of here faster, she was grateful for any assistance he could offer right now.

There were hints of Tessa's real personality leaking out whenever Ray connected with her regarding the Drones. Such as a more genuine smile when he said that the simple names she gave them weren't bad.

Although in all of the chaos, it was understandable to miss that sort of thing. Ray explained that it probably wouldn't work out because of the rumors about RT3 -- or the people in them... Tessa didn't know which it was, but she did know one thing!

"Well it's clearly not taboo for them, so...!"

But, there was another clash when he suggested that Tessa was simply trying to use him, and that 'girls weren't actually interested in him that way' -- well, she wasn't going to take that! She points right back at him.

"Yoouuu hold on there! I personally think your job is amazing! I was even paying attention to what you were telling me! Like your family's repair shop, or how your mum just wanted you to get an executive position!"

Tessa then slams her palms on the table.

"And if you think I wasn't going to be every bit of loving to you like a good girlfriend slash wife should be, you'll have another thing coming!"

... That was a weird way for her to respond to such accusations, but one got the idea that she was being serious despite the reveal of her plans. And as he gets easily flustered and asks exactly what is "too small", she immediately brings her hands up to grab her own breasts.

"These! My boobies! My massive frickin' tiddies! My super stuffed milkies! MY HONKER BONKER DOINKIE BOINKIES!"
She keeps bouncing them with each name she lists off...

But eventually, she settles down. If only because it was better for the both of them to come clean and focus on what was really important here. Somehow, and some way, Ray was able to convince her to be honest and pull no further tricks.

Evidenced by her nod as she crosses her arms.

"Yeh, alright. I still stand by what I said earlier, but I won't be tryin' anything else unless you give me a signal."

Tessa responds. And fortunately it doesn't take Ray long to come around to the idea of helping her if only for the sake of the Drones. And he was also willing to help her get a job at JCJenson -- she could certainly ask to get out of this place faster, but that was going to be a big help anyway.


"I appreciate that. I really do."

She remarked -- with no sense of sarcasm or insincerity behind it. It might not be the dream scenario of getting out of here as soon as possible, but it was still getting her foot in the door.

As he comments that it's time to get to work, she gives him a nod, eager to both watch and assist where she could... It was a very monumental task that was ahead of them, though. Along with some very weird instances... The poor Drone with a fork stuck in his eye screen was one such example.

"Like I said... They really just don't care about Drones."

Tessa explained. It was soon becoming clear that they only barely tolerated her interests. But with the two of them working together, they were able to get through quite a lot of the repairs. Even if they had to get creative with the workarounds.

Yeah, some of them were pretty worse for wear, they couldn't do FULL repairs without being back at a JCJenson Service Center of some kind. But they could get them back up to working condition, and they wouldn't suffer any further problems as a result of operating, at least.

Tessa smiled as she looked over what they've managed to fix so far.

"Well. Gotta look at the positives right? They've got some character now!"
She stated, but it was pretty easy to tell that she still felt bad for them... She lets out a small sigh.
"Really hope I can get good at all of this. Programming quirks are one thing, but I imagine they'd like to be whole again."

Just as Ray and Tessa take stock of just how much work they have left... That Maid Drone with the glasses steps into the room, holding a tray of various drinks.

"Excuse me..."
She says softly.
"I got some drinks for you. I don't know your preferences, so I just... Prepared a little of everything."

She calmly approaches the two of them, and holds up the tray so they could see what was available. Tea, orange juice, lemonade, milk, and water.

Tessa ends up pouring herself a glass of tea. An action which catches the Maid by surprise.
"Um... I-..."

Tessa takes a sip of the tea, feeling refreshed already. She then glances over at the Drone and smiles.
"Thanks V. And don't worry about being so formal. Just me and the Technician here."

V gives a small nod, then turning her attention to Ray. Her screen begins to depict blush lines as she stares at him.
"I would... Um... Pour a drink for you, if you like."

She waits patiently for him to pick.

And fortunately, right now Tessa was focused on looking over the Drones that still needed to be repaired. So Ray and V were afforded just a little bit of privacy here.

Well, N was still there. But she was good with anything!

Satisfied that she had made her point, Tessa gives a nod and straightens out.

"Darn right you're glad!"

And after having said that, she was further satisfied that Ray WAS staring, even if only after she started heavily pointing them out to him. She also didn't hear what he was whispering to N, which was probably for the best, just based on how this conversation was going so far.

But at least when it came to their work, Tessa was actually pretty helpful, sure, there was still a lot to get through, but for the most part she already knew a fair bit, and Ray only needed to give her tips and tricks to make the overall process easier.

Still, she grinned as Ray suggested that she might one day be even better than him.
"Now that'd be something. Way I see it, you've got a real knack for this, so I'll have to work hard at it."

When it came to Ray and V interacting with each other... She fidgets slightly as he crouches down to see her at eye level. But she does give him a soft smile and a nod as he introduces himself, and iterates that there's no need to be formal.

"Okay... It's nice to meet you too, Ray."

Her gaze then follows his hand, as he begins to raise it. His movements are slow and deliberate, giving her time to process it, and decide what she's comfortable with. Normally, her timid nature would see her shrinking away from it. But...

He seemed very gentle. Very much moreso than the Elliots, that was for sure -- not that Tessa was mean to her or anything like that -- but she stays still, letting him pet her atop the head. It seems that she enjoys it, very well indicated through the blushing on her visor as she glances downward.

She had a small "v" shaped smile on her face. And as he calmly pulls his hand away, she's able to pull her gaze back up to him.

"You're welcome. Please let me know if you change your mind."

She replies to him.

Off to the side, the familiar voice of Tessa is heard;

"Well. How about that. Normally V doesn't let anyone get that close to her."

She remarks with her arms crossed, and a coy smile.

"Guess she likes you, Ray."

With that follow-up comment, V flusters slightly.

"W-well... T-that is..."
There she goes, fidgeting again. Even though she was normally timid, it was pretty obvious that she had the signs of a crush, too...

Tessa gives him an appreciative smile after he reiterates that he's serious.

"Well, guess that means I better keep working at it to live up to those expectations, eh?"

But even more importantly... Seeing how he and V interacted was very enlightening for Tessa. She was pretty shy even setting aside the kind of circumstances they were in -- she was almost certain of that to the point that she didn't want to believe what Ray was saying as a cover, but...

V gives a small nod, blushing still because of the wink that he had given her.

"Right."

V replies in agreement. Tessa taps a finger against her own chin, not fully buying it. But whether it was true or not, she decides to play along with it, shrugging.

"Fair enough."
Tessa then calmly steps over, leaning in to whisper to Ray.
"She is single though."

With a cheeky grin, she backs off and makes her way back over to the table. Tessa was ready to get back to it, and eventually, Ray begins to hum a tune to himself. Both Tessa and V listen to it intently.

Tessa just chooses to listen to it. But V does begin to softly hum along with the tune, picking it up surprisingly quickly. It was difficult to tell if she recognized it, or if it was just one of the advantages that a Drone had for musical capacity.

Whatever the case was, Tessa was definitely seeing some potential here -- but she knew better than to press any further than her single joke from earlier. If anything WAS going to happen, then it probably would by itself.

... Even if she REALLY wanted to play a bit more on the matchmaking angle.

"That's a nice song, mate."
Tessa comments softly, soon adding;
"What's the name of it? Might have to check it out myself sometime."

She remarks, already knowing that V might appreciate something to remember Ray by, at least.

And at the mention of "employee of the month" and "branded pens"... Another Maid Drone hurriedly enters the room.

"That's actually real?!"

The twin-tailed Worker Drone asked, standing on her tip-toes in order to better look Ray in the face. Though she does return to standing normally when she processes his words that he didn't win the award yet. She then points at him.

"You better work hard so the next time you come here, I can see it for myself!"

Tessa chuckled, patting her on the head.
"Easy, J."

And then she gives Ray a thumbs up.
"Yeah, pretty sure I have to now, given J's interest here."

Of course, after all of that, Ray also jolted upright out of surprise after Tessa told him that V was single. And then his screwdriver ending up getting dropped inside of the Drone. As he removes his glove and begins to root around inside of the chassis for the lost tool, Tessa raises an index finger.

"Y'might not want to..."

Too late, though. Just as Ray's hand closes around what he thinks is his lost screwdriver, he soon finds out it is very much NOT, to a very shocking surprise. Fortunately, Ray has the common sense to let go and stumbles back onto his butt.

Tessa gives him a sympathetic smile as she offers a hand for him to get up. V ended up putting the tray down onto a vacant end table as she also moves over to check up on him. Tessa is the first to speak, however;

"Yeah. I've had that happen plenty of times. I kind of have a mental map of things to avoid now."

That was Tessa's remark, V is a little more empathetic than that.
"Are you okay...?"

J ends up peeking over at him between the two closer girls. Evidently she was concerned about his safety too.

J gives him a smile and nods. She crosses her arms -- and it soon becomes clear that she tries to project a certain persona of sorts. But you could also kind of see right through it if you paid attention.

"Excellent! Perhaps I'll have to help you and Tessa."

After that, though... N probably has the most visceral reaction to what happened to Ray. Tessa couldn't help but chuckle, especially in light of Ray's response and rhetorical question which he very quickly didn't want to find out the answer to.

"Yeah. This place is kind of spooky. Can't blame you for thinking that zombies are probably a normal occurrence here."

Tessa remarked, and as Ray explained that he was fine to V, the Maid gives a small nod in understanding.
"Just be careful. I'd hate for something bad to happen to you..."

After that, Ray just couldn't help but look around the room and observe a fact about this home; it was a dark place! Tessa gives a small sigh and a nod at that.

"Yeah. I don't know why my parents insist on making this place so dark and dreary. It's like they want everyone to think that we live in the mansion of some cheesy horror movie."

Still, as Tessa was searching through her pockets, someone else had produced a flashlight, signified by a clicking sound. V seems to have anticipated that this kind of work definitely benefited from having light -- probably because she was used to Tessa doing this.

Either way, she holds it for Ray, shining it where he needed to see. The internals of the Drone were lit up, and he could see where his screwdriver had fallen now.

"Oh, there it is."
She pointed it out -- but the Maid Drone was also careful not to reach inside. It seems she understood the risks; and how they were probably greater for a Drone like herself. So she was going to leave this to the professional.

Tessa smiles as she steps over to the table once more.
"Nice job, V. You're always so dependable!"

After that bit of praise, V seemed to perk up noticeably. J rolled her eyes, feeling a little jealous.

Tessa couldn't help but give a little bit of a nervous chuckle.

"Heheh... Yeah... Pretty sure "zombie drones deciding to take vengeance on the family that wronged them" would be a little too fitting."

That aside, V gives him a little smile as he announces his appreciation for her concern, and gives her a headpat. It at least looked like it was pretty easy to win her over, even as shy as she was. After that, Ray hypothetically questioned about the reasons the Elliots had to keep the manor like this.

Tessa does give a small grin at his silly conclusion, though.

"Money ain't the problem. Though I can't blame you for thinking that they're nobles falling from grace, or somethin' like that."

And shortly after she said that, Ray voiced his agreement about how helpful it was to have an assistant in his work. V's reaction was totally in line with what one would expect; she was very happy about it! She didn't say much, but it was easy to read how much it meant to her to receive praise.

Tessa, for her part, spied an opportunity here.

"Well, you know-"

Then thunder struck right on cue. Loud enough to get everyone's attention and interrupt the conversation momentarily. If that wasn't enough, then the fact that the winds blew hard enough to blow open the shutters certainly did that.

Tessa peers up at the window, tilting her head slightly.

"That a crow?"

And before anyone could even take an action, the crow swooped down, intent on taking Ray's screwdriver! It managed to do just that, and was now flying wildly around the room with the tool in hand. Ray started chasing it.

Both him and N were trying to capture the bird and retrieve the tool, but their efforts weren't going quite so well. J was already moving to try and keep the bird from escaping the room, but even she had to pause and watch this plan of theirs play out. There was no way this was going to work...

After N is tossed into the air, she flies majestically... Straight into a wall, landing with a thud. J looks down at her, and then rolls her eyes.

"I can't believe this."

That was the twin-tailed Maid's response. V quickly came over, checking on N and helping her up.

Tessa just had to watch all of that play out, and she couldn't help but be amused -- at least at first. But seeing the bird fly deeper into the mansion, and Ray voicing his concerns about this, she gets back to business.

She steps right on over to her three Worker Drones, and huddles a bit with the group as she leans down towards them.

"Alright, guys. I think it's time we help out our friend. We can't go letting him get in trouble after he's come all this way to help us!"

V gives a nod in agreement with Tessa's words -- whereas J gives a more vocal response.

"Well, that's true. Let's go find that bird!"

With that said, Tessa, V and J each turn their attention to him, with the human girl speaking up once more.

"We've got your back, Ray! I'll cover for you, and we can all try to get your screwdriver back."

"Maybe, if she were half as graceful as I am."
J replied -- well, at least she wasn't lacking in confidence...

Although there was a little bit of silence as N remarked about the blunt force head trauma. And Ray wanting to think that it was a joke. The hesitation made one wonder how many times N had been on the receiving end one of the outbursts of Tessa's family...

"Don't worry. I take good care of them, and I make sure that they stay out of trouble. I try to do that for all the Drones, but... You know."

Okay, that was too dark, onto happier things! Like the group being willing to help Ray out right now. Of course, as he insisted that he takes the blame, J immediately shoots that down.

"Normally, I'd let any employee sink or swim -- but in this case, you're helping us. So you're not going to have your job be in danger over those stuffy idiots!"

Well, at least J was bluntly honest. Tessa smirks, holding out a hand towards her.

"Darn right, J."
The two clap their hands, signifying their union on this.

V ends up nodding in agreement.
"I-I agree... If you get in trouble, you might not be able to come back again."

Still, even if they were worried about what might happen if they got caught... That wouldn't matter if they didn't! The group moves towards the door, and a creak from it just adds onto the tension that must have been building up for each one of them right now.

But the coast was clear -- Ray signaled that to them, and they begin to follow him. Each one looked in a different direction, both to look for the Crow, and to spot any of the Elliots; speaking of which, they could hear the voices approaching now! V and J move quickly, stepping into the shadows to stay out of sight and out of mind.

Tessa realizes that Ray isn't as familiar with where to go when something like this is going on, so she quickly grabs hold of him, and pulls him along to a hiding spot -- the same one that V chose, to be exact.

"Stop. We're not alone."

Tessa warned quietly. Hopefully her father and the butler drone would pass by without incident... The group had frozen very still, waiting this out.