cradleproject | WEEK 9

WEEK 9 - Trial

the pygmalion. . .

ONLINE

CAPTAIN'S LOG:
WEEK (9)

saturday TRIAL DAY ONE

(19) survivors

At 9 AM, a klaxon alarm begins blaring in every area of the ship. The alarm will continue to go off until everyone has gathered in the conference room. Should anyone be running late or avoiding the trial for whatever reason, a robot guide will appear wherever they are and gently but firmly escort them into the room. Once all the living players are present, the conference room doors will lock shut; anyone who wishes to leave for whatever reason will need to ask AL-2955 or one of the robots. Anyone leaving for non-investigative purposes, such as bathroom breaks, will be accompanied by a robot escort.

The large round table in the center of the conference room has been set up to help the trial run as smoothly as possible. Three holographic screens hover above the center hollow of the table, visible from every angle. The first screen displays the pictures and profiles of the suspects and victim; the second displays the autopsy report; the third displays a blank word processor. Each of the chairs comes equipped with a virtual keyboard which can be used to type information directly into the third screen, such as theories and updated information; they can also be set into privacy mode, which will transfer whatever notes someone writes directly into their datapad instead of on screen. There's also a tablet function for those who wish to draw charts or pictures on screen. The keyboards will detect the DNA of whoever's using them and record who's typed what - simply press an area of text and the name of whoever wrote it will pop up.

The area to the right of the table has been temporarily sectioned off with a glass partition and sliding door for hygienic issues. Inside, the victim's body has been laid out on a metal autopsy table, covered by a plastic sheet. Above it is a holographic screen that displays a close-up color photograph of the body when it was found. A hand sanitizer dispenser has been considerately attached to the wall nearby for anyone getting up close and personal to the body.

To the left of the conference table is a display case. Any evidence found during the investigation will be carefully collected by the robots at some point the previous day and placed here before the trial starts. Beneath each piece of evidence is a small tablet where players can type up information, such as a short description or where it was found. There are also empty areas left over for any evidence that may be found during the trial. The shelf at the very bottom of the case has been reserved for an extra rulebook in case anyone needs it.

Food will be served throughout the day by the robots, who will take individual orders whenever you're feeling hungry. The trial will end at 9:00 PM, at which point all players will have been expected to cast their vote.

victim

suspects

Character Statuses
Setting
Rulebook
Voting

Threaded | Flat

Above the center of the conference table, the rightmost holographic screen displays the autopsy report:

Autopsy Report - Machias Regnitz

Cause of Death - Appears to be due to explosion.

Body Discovery - Dismembered body parts found floating towards the top of the zero gravity room. Body announcement alarm went off at 2:19AM.

Time of Death - 11PM - 2:15AM

Condition of Body - Body has been blown apart and scorched, likely due to force of explosion. Shrapnel embedded in various areas. Unusually large wound on shoulder.

Condition of Scene - Gravity turned to lowest setting upon immediately entering the room. Large scorchmark surrounding crater on ceiling. Blue scarf tied to machine in the middle of the room. Blood trail leading from hallway to machine.

Autopsy Report - Minako Arisato

Cause of Death - Appears to be trauma or blood loss due to shotgun or stab wounds.

Body Discovery - Found lying in airlock on her back. Body announcement alarm went off at 2:22AM.

Time of Death - 11PM - 2:20AM

Condition of Body - Large shotgun wound in the middle of chest. Similar wound on wrist, causing near detachment. Multiple stab wounds on torso.

Condition of Scene - Shotgun pellets and two shotgun shells found at scene. Shotgun spread and blood splatter found on entrance and wall, approximately five feet up. Knife found clutched in victim's hand. Separate blood splatter nearby with drops of blood connecting to trail in hallway.

Edited 2016-08-06 06:41 (UTC)

The holographic screen in the middle displays the photos and profiles of each of the suspects. Pressing their photograph will bring up a tab where the suspects can type up their alibi.

Whereabouts - Thursday Night - Friday Morning, Week Nine

The display case to the left of the conference table houses all the evidence that has been found during the investigation so far. Below each piece of evidence is a tablet where players can label the piece and type up any notes they may have about it. There are also empty slots with blank tablets for any evidence or information that may be found during the trial.

All evidence and other information found during the course of investigation should be listed here.

(OOC: Please also link the thread where the evidence was found!)

The right area of the room has been sectioned off by a glass partition, which players can enter via a vertical sliding door. Machias' and Minako's bodies has been laid out on two sterile metal autopsy tables. Their bodies are covered with a plastic sheet, but the sheet can be removed. Other than the position and the sheet, the body has not been changed from how they were found.

A holographic screen above the body displays two color photos of the scene when the body discovery alarms rang at 2:19 AM and 2:21 AM. The photographs are close ups - they portray Machias' and Minako's bodies, but no more of the scene than is necessary to do so. Still, if you want to check their position, it makes it easy to do so.

Edited 2016-08-06 19:11 (UTC)

[Once the 9AM alarm has rung and all players have awakened, the statue in the alcove in the back of the room chimes gently. Holographic water begins pouring out of the jug the statue is carrying, forming the shimmering image of a vaguely feminine figure made out of liquid.]

Greetings, participants. As always, I am at your disposal should you need to ask anything. Good luck.

[The holographic image will remain throughout the trial. You're free to ask her whatever you want, though whether she'll answer is a different question entirely.]

We need to find out who was killed first, don't we?

[Jessie's been reading over the evidence lists so far.]

Why does Minako have both gunshot wounds and stab wounds? She wasn't that unpopular, was she?

[oh what the fuck

well here's Clover, as grumpy as it gets. she's holding the laser scythe and she's put the meat cleaver in a chair so no one can sit next to her, why is she LIKE THIS

she's trying to look mad but mostly she's just upset and exhausted. she isn't putting out an invitation to interrogate her but she's looking at everyone like she knows it's coming and she's already over it.]

[she takes a long look at the suspect list, sighing before she speaks. why this.]

You may ask me anything you'd like. I will cooperate fully.

[ Well, here is Jack, in case you want to ask him anything! However, if you don't keep up with the local megalomaniac, there are two things that you might notice about him this trial. One, his missing hand has now been replaced with a prosthetic that's been fashioned from Rhys's arm, and two, his gun is now gone. Thankfully? ]

Yyyyyeah, so as usual, didn't do it, don't hide my murders, all that good stuff. Still. I'm your local super handsome, super charming CEO of a major corporation, ask me anything.

Edited 2016-08-06 21:27 (UTC)

Shall we get the searches underway? I've no intention of rifling through anyone's things uninvited, but perhaps we ought to divvy up the tasks?

[ it's pretty clear yuno has spent her morning with grell. her hair is done up in an elaborate mess of braids. she's sitting with her arms folded and her expression... strained, perhaps, as if trying not to show her emotions. ]

Okay... I guess it's my turn, right? I'll cooperate.

[Marinette looks exhausted and closes her eyes for a minute at a time if no one's talking to her]

[Rubbing her eyes to try to keep awake]

Yes, yes, it's my turn, I know, ask me questions.

Let's start talking about the evidence we have.

After a closer look at the scarf, it seems like there's a point in the middle that's been heavily bled on. The end that wasn't tied to the machine had some lighter blood stains, though more like blood dripped on it than anything. The scarf itself was loosely stretched, so it probably had someone pulling on it while it was tied.

By the way, does anyone have theories about the fabric that was found in the incinerator? My guess would be someone getting rid of a bloodstained piece of clothing, but there could be other explanations.

While we're busy discussing who bit the dust first, there's something that's been bothering me since last night.

[And it's not the extra chunky salsa. Maybe.]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I heard two explosions at 2:15 AM. The first one felt like a small earthquake. Startled a lot of us awake when it happened. No idea if the proximity mines are strong enough to cause that big a boom, but until we test that theory out? I'm chalking the first explosion up to that.

[That said...]

The second explosion happened about half a minute later. Not as big. Not even strong enough to rock the ship like the first one. Didn't even sound the same, really. Sounded more like a sharp crack than a big boom. Unless Machias's shotgun got an upgrade since the week Allen Walker kicked it, I think we should start trying to figure out what the hell caused that second noise. Maybe do some experiments with the proximity mine while we're at it.

[It's that part of the trial again, folks. Time to play with fire.]

I went and checked out Minako's [ugh] corpse. She was still wearing her holster with her special gun in it. I don't know if you guys remember from the week when she was a suspect, during Kazuma's trial, but she used her Evoker to summon that creature... "Messiah".

[WHO COULD FORGET??]

I remember she said he could protect her, but does anyone know what else Messiah could do? And also... there was some blood on it, around the grip and the trigger. It looks like someone tried to wipe it off, so I think she might have either used it or at least tried to. What I don't understand is why the killer would try to wipe it off?

[So here we have two (2) dead men walking down to the zero-grav room with a few proximity mines, Cartallen, Machias’s scarf and a few rounds of ammo. Luckily the console is switched so that nobody floats up to the ceiling just yet as Luke looks into the room. Jason and Luke are downstairs and he knows other people are upstairs, and for that reason he pauses to look at the ceiling.]

How do you think they mounted the thing up there in the first place?

[adrien hates to throw shade at a girl he genuinely liked, but this is about listing the facts and also literally everyone threw shade at Machias immediately so whatever]

I asked Alice about Minako's abilities. Messiah is something called a Persona and it's supposed to be a representation of her soul. Once she summons it, she controls all its actions. She was limited to a once a day use, like Marinette and me. Messiah could defend her... but it also had an offensive attack available here. It's called "megidolan". Alice described it as a certainly fatal explosion, which makes me think that might've been the first explosion we heard, before the mine, maybe? She had to raise her hand to her head to summon it-- like we saw her do it during Kazuma's trial.

... I also asked about her motive. Alice said that her greatest accomplishment was stopping something called "The Fall", and compared it to an apocalypse. Minako had apparently sacrificed herself to save the world before she ended up here.

[he lets that stand on its own because it's hard to consider it, but. as far as motives for accomplices go: Minako had a way better one than Machias.]

Edited 2016-08-07 03:59 (UTC)

I'm looking over the reports and overhearing the discussion, but what about the blood with Minako? No, no, not... I don't think it's her blood - the trail and blood on the wall are different than what pooled around Minako's body.

[ She tries to think, chewing her lip. ]

Did Minako act in self defense and hurt her killer - leaving them to trail blood as they made their escape?

[So yeah an hour and a half later Jason and Luke come back from the zero-g room. Luke's pretty stiff when he more or less settles in his chair and props his head up with a hand to close his eyes, but he's talking.]

So, couple of things we found out. That second explosion came from the shotgun shells in Machias's shoulder pocket exploding in the aftermath of the mine going off. We figured out that if the body was free-floating the mine activated instantaneously but if it was tied to the console like we'd thought, it would take about half an hour.

[He winces a bit, shaking his head to clear the ringing in his ears. This part won't be fun to relay, but it's important.]

...and we found out that if somebody's valued this week, they have full immunity. You can be right next to the mine when it explodes and live right through it which means you could probably live through just about anything else. Activates some kinda shield. Pretty useful to know, don't ya think?

Edited 2016-08-07 06:00 (UTC)

[ At 7PM on the dot, the ritual from last trial is repeated; the screens phase away, as if powered down without warning. The corpse is closed off, the door shut nice and tight, and the same is done with the evidence case. Should anyone attempt to get into either of them, they would find it wholly impossible: the trial is put on hold for some rest, once again. ]

It is 7PM, participants. As usual, the trial shall be placed on hold until the morning. Dinner will be held in this room, like last trial. Please do not stab the robots. They will take your order and bring it out to you. They cannot do this if they are damaged. To ensure that there will be no tampering with the evidence, all participants are to remain in this room. Blankets and entertainment shall be provided shortly, and should you find a change of clothes necessary, that can also be arranged.

[ A few moments later, the screens and tablets are on again, this time providing a selection of explosive action movies, and retro gaming. Anyone who leaves will be accompanied by a robot, and then ushered back into the conference room. You're stuck in a sleepover with the corpse near you again, it seems.

Feel free to thread out any of the evening's interactions here. ]

Threaded | Flat

Autopsy Report

Alibis

Findings

Body

Host

no subject

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