WEEK 8 - Trial Day Two

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (8)

saturday TRIAL DAY TWO (22) 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

fight field trip.

[erythristic]

[so two suspects get the clearance to go into the gym to mock fight. place your bets. also Grell may have speedchanged into pants instead of a dress because she doesn't want Luke to ruin it.]

There's still time to back out, you know.

[chiseler]

[Generally speaking he's frustrated. He's frustrated he's a suspect, he's frustrated they're running out of time, he's frustrated that all of the suspects are people he reasonably likes and he's frustrated that Arumat's dead. So no, he has Backbiter in hand and he's trying to keep himself calm so he can actually fight but he has one goal in mind.

Prove that he couldn't have done this, and maybe prove whether Grell could or could not.]

Now why would I back out of something like this? You're not worried, are you?

[Who the fuck allowed this.]

[erythristic]

[we allowed this]

Hardly. I just don't like the thought of hurting you.

[which. this will probably end in pain and tears, but if she can show them that her fighting style isn't the sort to end without a single mark...]

[chiseler]

Well it's a good thing we've been studying medicine this week, isn't it? [This is what it's come down to, huh? Fighting with friends to try and prove themselves? Part of it is also just something to do that may or may not help.

And so he draws his sword.] I'm ready when you are.

[erythristic]

[ah, well, here they are. summoning the scythe, she raises her eyebrow - come on, then. she won't turn it on, but her stance shifts slightly - ready to spring off at a second's notice.]

Don't worry, I'll patch you up after.

[chiseler]

I won't be needing it. [He's glancing at the scythe, sizing it up for a moment before he narrows his eyes. Whatever. He just wants answers and he did always say he'd do whatever it took to get them. So he's moving with a sudden burst of speed, Backbiter swinging with the proficiency of someone who's been well trained as he comes in for a sideswipe to try and caught her off-guard. It's not meant to do more than catch her off-guard, and from there he'll try to bounce back enough to get in another strike.]

[erythristic]

[the scythe is gone the instant he's closer, it dismissed because she meant what she said - she didn't want to hurt him. even not on, it's a dangerous thing. pulling back to dodge, she moves in for his second strike, a hand reaching out at high speed to grab the wrist with the sword. if successful, she'll follow with bringing her forehead to smash into his - hard enough to stun for a few seconds.

whether it works or doesn't, she's not finished yet.]

[chiseler]

[Whoa wait what why are we weaponless. He belatedly realizes what's happening and drops his sword at the last minute to catch it with his non-dominant hand (which isn't easy considering Backbiter's like four feet long), but she manages to catch his wrist and headbutt him enough to make him dizzy. He's still on his feet and he shakes his head to clear it, sword coming back up to strike.

Do your worst, Grell. Prove him right.]

[erythristic]

[with his wrist in her grip, though? she turns, dragging him with her as she puts her second hand there as well. using the momentum, she flings Luke hard enough to send him back a decent distance across the room. whether he's still standing or not is none of her concern - she takes a deep breath and readjusts her gloves, beginning to walk away. they're done, as far as she's concerned, and the full weight of what she's done is hitting her.

without holding back, she knows it makes her look suspicious. but her body was clean. no marks. and no reason to try and drug him. god, this just gets worse and worse as the day goes on.]

[chiseler]

[And this is how we prove Grell can, in fact, throw around a grown man because he goes sailing and Backbiter skitters away as he lands quite heavily on the ground. He's not knocked out at least, but he's definitely down for a little bit even as she walks away.

Well...that proves one thing, but it's still not enough. Give him a moment, he needs to pick his shame up off the ground.]

...you always been able to do that? [Yes, even while he's sprawled on the ground he's making remarks.]

[erythristic]

...yes.

[she doesn't look at him when she admits that.]

Where I came from, I had to know how to fight. How to be prepared for things.

[Grell stops, breathing in.]

I know what you're thinking, Luke. But remember this - he was twice your size, for one thing, and for the second, I want to see the truth as much as you do.

[chiseler]

[And he'll push himself up on his hands and knees shakily though he grabs Backbiter and shoves it into his makeshift scabbard as he stands up to his full height.]

Think the same can be said for us, too. [About needing to know how to fight. He looks reasonably cowed at least.] ...we're running out of time, Grell. We need to figure out something else.

[erythristic]

I know, Luke.

[deep breath. deep breath. they've never failed to catch the killer before. they can do this. she has to solve this.]

Forget the why. Forget who has a secret worth killing over. Let's think instead on who would be putting all this together.

[because as it stands, everything they know is so complicated. walk with her back to the conference room?]

The simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

[chiseler]

[He's limping a little since he hit the floor hard but he's walking it off like a good demigod.]

What do you think the likelihood is that it was another accidental murder and maybe somebody else came along to make it more interesting? [She said simple, Luke.]

[erythristic]

Unlikely. I don't know how you would accidentally murder a man through repeatedly smashing his head into a wall.

...What if he was the one to flood his own room? There was scorching on the floor, wasn't there? Could it be to counteract something?

[chiseler]

But wasn't it also confirmed that the fire came from his own magic? It wasn't Dorian's and I don't know what else it could have been.

[erythristic]

True. That means the pipe destruction must have happened while he collapsed or something.

[pushing up her glasses, she frowns.]

If the killer had the keycard, that means there's a number of rooms where evidence could be hiding - the missing plants, any oddities that we would have wanted to investigate, something of Arumat's that would point to our killer...which might not be such a bad thought to go off of. If something seems to be lacking, something physical, then perhaps we shouldn't assume it simply doesn't exist - only that we can't find it.

[chiseler]

Then...what? We should start going through everyone's rooms because somebody could have stashed evidence in an empty room belonging to somebody who's dead? [...wait that actually happened, didn't it.] That doesn't make sense. I feel like we have the pieces but we're putting things together the wrong way. Something about the timing isn't adding up at all and that's what bugs me.

[erythristic]

Which part of the timing is concerning you?

[she'll even get out her notebook for this so they can look at the notes she's taken which are really just a summary of their knowledge.]

[chiseler]

Don't you see? At some point all of us overlapped with at least one other person on the suspect list. So how did this happen?

[erythristic]

Two people are lying about where they were.

[...or three, but she's not going to throw Adam under the bus just yet.]

[chiseler]

Yeah, but which two? That's the other problem.

[erythristic]

You have a theory, don't you?

[just say their names, Luke, it's not going to hurt.]

[chiseler]

Not a good one. My only theory is Dorian and Bull and there's not enough evidence. There's not enough evidence to point to any of us right now.

[erythristic]

...I pray you're right on that last point.

[since she's heard your boyfriend talking about how she could have done it, Luke.]

Do you think Dorian could have lied about being drunk that night?