Petal paced anxiously and considered the form in her hands. Pacing was getting to be a bad habit, but she had bigger issues than correcting small character flaws right now. She looked down at the form again:
Petal sighed. At last, she took out a nano-encoding stylus and signed her name, afixing the necessary nano-signature that ensured the name she had signed was not a forgery. She held her breath as the document melted away, off into the ether of the Grid to be delivered and processed. She waited for a moment. She had been lead to believe that the transition would be instantaneous, but nothing seemed to be happening. After several more moments, a beep came through on her PDA. As she read the words, her eyes grew wide.I, the undersigned, do hereby renounce my citizenship to the Omni-Tek corporation. I understand that by doing so, I forfeit all rights of citizenship, including, but not limited to, free travel through the territories controlled by Omni-Tek, legal and military protection, medical services, supplies, and financial assistance of any sort. Furthermore, I understand that this action constitutes a violation of my contract of employment, and that Omni-Tek may, at it's sole discretion, seek legal recourse or impose disciplinary measures.
I have read this form completely, and am prepared to accept any consequences that may arise from my actions.
X__________________
Petal groaned. It was so typical that one bureaucratic mishap after another seemed to dog her. After a long pause, she sighedYour application for a change in status has been rejected.
"Nothing to do but try to get this cleared up, I suppose," she finally said, to no one in particular. "Still, it's late, I'm tired... I'll tilt at windmills tomorrow."
Petal turned to Icarus, who silently rose to follow her. She stepped up to the Grid terminal in her apartment and held her breath as she was digitally broken down and reassembled in the matrix of the Grid. She made her way to Omni-1's entertainment district.
Might as well enjoy one last night at Rompa, after all... she thought to herself.
Petal stepped lightly down as the Grid terminal in Omni-Entertainment recomposed her. She took another step and then gasped as a bolt of energy whizzed by her head, missing by mere centimeters. Behind her, she heard an explosion and the sound of metal striking the concrete of the plaza. She turned around in time to see Icarus, headless, collapse to his knees, neck still sparking and arms spasming slightly.
"Bodyguard neutralized. Primary objective acquired."
Blackpetal whirled to confront several Omni-Pol officers pointing their weapons at her.
"Racheal Schuemann, I hereby place you under arrest for the crime of treason against Omni-Tek, conspiracy to commit treason, consorting with enemies of the corporation, espionage, and conspiracy to commit espionage. I advise you to come along quietly, or things will go badly for you," the lead officer said, and Petal was sure she could hear a smirk in his voice despite the electronic distortion of his helmet speaker.
Petal looked at the officers, then looked back at the mangled wreckage of Icarus. Fighting back tears, she slowly raised her hands and allowed herself to be led away.