WEEK 6 - Trial

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (6)

saturday TRIAL DAY ONE (29) 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

Comments

[refactor]

[ Jack's grief is giving way to anger fairly quickly, because once again, Rhys doesn't know when to stop talking. If looks could kill, Rhys would be facing a slow, agonizing death right about now. Jack's jaw is clenched tightly, as if it's taking all of his restraint to not jump across this table and snap Rhys's neck. Because just like that, it clicks. The way Rhys is speaking here, the way he's bitterly talking about what Jack has done, the way he blames him for why Jack isn't in his head anymore—

He understands, he thinks. Or even if he doesn't understand, it ultimately doesn't matter, because there's only one way he can take these words. ]

—Y'know, I'll admit it. You really had me going, kiddo. My programming isn't clean, huh?

[ By the end there, there's venom in Jack's words, because he knows. He's absolutely sure that what Rhys had told him when they had both woken up here is a lie, and Jack is nothing short of furious that he bought into it. He'd underestimated Rhys. In another context, he might feel proud of him, and there's are barbed words on his tongues to drive in that fear that had caused all of this, but at this point, he can't ignore Elizabeth as she starts to process all of this too. ]

Fine. You want to do this now? We'll do this now.

[ His expression reflects a colder anger, because he had truly meant it when he had asked to not dig into this. Pleaded, so far as he sees it. He knows why Elizabeth is upset. He's not so blind that he doesn't understand why she would see the parallel, because he certainly had seen it as soon as she'd explained. But he still, delusionally, doesn't think it's the same at all. ]

So, Liz, never asked, but what about your powers? You ever kill someone with them? Because my Angel, she killed her mom when she was just a little girl. Killed her right in front of me, because she couldn't control her own powers. So, you don't have a lot of options when you have a daughter that can kill people by accident. What, you let her just go mix with other people? Traumatize herself when she kills them? Have people think of her as a monster? But, yeah, go on, judge me! [ He's starting to get angry here, more animated as he gets defensive ] Because you think how much I love about my daughter is fake, huh? That I just kept her away from people because I wanted to?

[ Jack throws out his arms and laughs, though it's frighteningly tense, well past hysterical rather than his usually animated laughter. ]

Ha— Haha, no, you-- Both of you, you don't get it one goddamn bit! You have a kid. You have a kid that's a Siren, and you see how you decide to handle it when those powers appear! I did— I did my best and now-- Haha, now, what do I even have if I make it off this goddamn ship? Tell me that!

[hatslinger]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, this needs to stop. Now.

[ honestly, this is more than fiona cares to know — she was only listening in case she felt like she needed to break this discussion up, and now was absolutely, 100% a time when she needed to do that. fiona practically barrels over, immediately getting in the mix here — she positions herself near rhys and elizabeth, a ways away from jack, and she's immediately grabbing rhys by the shoulder. ]

This is not a conversation for here. At all. You guys are totally free to do it later, but not now. [ turning her gaze to rhys. ] And I thought I tould you to stop shit-stirring. You're making, like, a shit disaster right now. All over everyone.

[ she eyes elizabeth, too, but she's not really sure what to do. all she can do is frown towards her. she doesn't know how volatile she is right now — really, all three of them. she's starting to feel like a very careful bull trying to make its way through a china shop here. ]

[jackhole]

[ you know, there's something different in rhys when he sees jack this angry. he's afraid, clearly, but there's a grit to his teeth that shows that yeah -- he's seen this jack before. he knows how to handle this. his hand slides into his pocket, wrapping around something and before fiona interrupts, there's a clear sign of rhys tugging a certain wiring out of his pocket.

but then fiona distracts him and he pushes it back in, softening as he sees her. okay, yeah. she's right. this isn't for here and it doesn't -- it doesn't matter. he looks a little guilty as she scolds him and he glances over at jack and liz before grabbing fiona's arm. ]

Come on, we -- we have to go to the bathroom.

[ and he's going to drag fiona out to... go to the bathroom with him, apparently, followed by one of those robots. see ya, jack and liz. ]

[brooches]

[ This.. all happens far too fast. Time is the biggest truthteller, it seems. Despite Elizabeth following the wrong crowd, trusting the wrong crowd, she's vulnerable. You might as well have put her up on that list because the look on her face screamed the word "vulnerable". ]

Jack - [ He doesn't stop. He doesn't stop for a second. His charisma is powerful, dripping with each venomous words that impale her deeper than any knife could. For a fragile young lady, Elizabeth handles it well. She flinches twice when he admits, thinking back on his daughter apparently being suicidal because of her captivity. Her words fail her and she looks truly, genuinely crushed. ] How could you?

[ With everything. She's so ignorant to his name. Blind to the leader he truly was. Unaware of the pain and suffering that Handsome Jack's regime inflicted upon worlds, families, people. She speaks on her experience. How he taught her the basics of programming. How he sat there and scorned Comstock for keeping her locked up. For giving her hope only to snatch it away. Oh, how she cried against him after Hancock's death... it leaves a bitter taste in her mouth that mixes with the impending horrible words that follow. ]

Y-You listened to me. You comforted me. You acted as a friend when you did the very same thing my father did - my very own father. How could you look me in the eyes and smile?! I - I wanted to help save your daughter too!

[ She sees Fiona and bites so hard on her bottom lip. She can't speak anymore - she respects Fiona too much to erupt. To let her anger fester her and control her. She's seen how men fall into it - how they do horrible things in their anger and she refuses. Elizabeth watches as Rhys tries to evade and drags Friona with them, her back turned and she walks away, sobbing to herself. ]

[refactor]

[ He hates telling this story. He hates it because no one ever understands. Her mother, his second wife, anyone that ever even knew about the Bunker, they just saw-- Well, they saw someone that Jack had paid a lot of money to make sure she ended up dead. But they didn't get it. It was never like that, because he had no choice. He should have never explained it at all, because when it's rejected, it's painful in the way that Jack like to pretend he's above.

Elizabeth's words are a twist of the knife, and part of him wants to reach out, to explain, but. He feels he has. He's explained so much as anyone could ever grasp, and something he so rarely shared that he knows it's not worth it. Just like that, a switch is flipped, because whatever weight, whatever value that he had placed on his kindness to Elizabeth is gone.

Ultimately, she's not that different after all, is she? It's what he gets. It's what always happens, because every time he opens up, there's always that knife waiting for him. Rhys, Elizabeth, anyone at all on this ship, they would betray him the moment he showed any weakness. ]

Hah—

[ Jack laughs again as Elizabeth walks away, his grin splitting his face with a wild, angry expression. It's just another confirmation of what she'd been told about Jack, because in that moment, he's more unhinged than he has been so far. This is the man that would gladly raze a planet in fire, and it seems like he'd like to do nothing more than that in this moment. There's no sadness, no regret, just that clear, open love of destruction. But he turns away too, stalking off to his own section of the conference room, though he's laughing to himself. ]

It's not like- Man, it's not like it even friggin' matters anymore—

[ But he just breaks out into unhinged laughter as he massages his brow with a furious energy. He takes a seat in his chair angrily, he just stares at the door, waiting for Rhys to return. If Rhys actually looks at him, Jack will just mouth two words:

You're dead. ]