theairlock | first trial

Entry tags:

!round 3,
!trial

first trial

[When the announcement sounds and the evidence gathered it’s time for a trial. When the remaining champions are all gathered by the repaired docking bay doors they slide slowly slide open.

There are two lines of robots, silent as sentries, creating a border path from the docking bay doors to the circle of metal podiums. The podiums themselves were made of strange metals in red and gold and orange and black, each one etched with the name of one of the Champions. There are flood lights - like spot lights - in front of each podium, but the lights in front of Shirou, Hamilton, and Albel are dark, and hung on the front of their podiums are greyscale portraits, printed from their profiles.

Blaze Dudely stands on a repair deck on top of his ship, which looms over the proceedings ominously. Rather than the glee the Champions may think he would take in this kind of display, he merely stands there with his arms crossed, expression unreadable and his cyborg eye scanning the Champions with a piercing scrutiny, like he's searching for one of them to act out of line.]

Mornin’, Champions. Here’s how this is goin’ to go: take the evidence ya found, piece together what happened and find who took out the Champion Swordsman. If ya find them, they’ll be dealt with. If ya don’t, they’ll be free to go and the rest of ya will face punishment. Take the time ya need but don’t bore me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

First theory. I believe Albel-san was attacked in the corridor, had a bottle smashed over his head to render him off balance or outright unconscious, then was dragged to the laundry room so the attacker could break his neck with the door. Furthermore, it's possible that Albel-san woke up during the attack, and tried to resist- thus accounting for the scratches in the door.

[ erika you're missing like 90% of the point of this, it's a whodunnit not howdunnit trial--

When she speaks, two blue shimmering lights pop into existence around shoulder-level with a ringing sound - and then fizzle out into non-existence within seconds. Goddamnit. ]

... of course, because today really needed to get worse. Either way, whoever attacked him likely didn't have the strength to confront him directly - or perhaps simply didn't have the right tools on hand.

[Okay, that's getting her a Look.]

All good points. I just have one question.

What the hell was that all about?

Normally I would delight in educating you, but this really isn't the time or place. Simply put, the Blue Truth [ handwaves at where the lights were. ] is a tool from... my world, so to speak, that is meant to aid in investigations and trials like this one.

And it doesn't seem to be working. [ She starts drumming her fingers on the podium again. ] Which is... irritating.

A tool, you say? [She's actually really intrigued by this, maybe she should...]

Is it something magical? [Pyrrha no-]

It's not magic, it's metatextual!

[ wow that was zero to a hundred in like two seconds. ]

...I-I'm sorry?

[You just said words that don't make sense there, kid.]

[Muttering:] Works more than some of our powers....

So if a lack of strength factors into this, then it goes toward eliminating people who would be strong enough to break a neck without help. It would be too risky to go the extra steps toward making yourself look that weak, you'd risk something going wrong.

They were cowardly.

Or they knew their limitations.

One could say cowardice is exactly that.

Arguably, they could have been trying to play it safely, given the circumstances. If the goal is to murder without getting caught, there's an element of deception at play, as well. Perhaps they didn't want to confront him directly because they were afraid it would result in something that would point to their identity...

A direct confrontation could result in the culprit being obviously wounded, after all.

[and your Token Bruiser was already taken out, which doesn't help figure out whom. he does eye all that blue, though, then shakes his head.]

It seems a messy method. There are cleaner ways to kill someone.

[beat]

Which means it is likely whoever did this was not experienced.

That's becoming clearer. Either that or they're not used to killing with their hands. A sniper, perhaps.

Or... they just weren't looking to have a head-on confrontation. That way, there would be a less likely chance of getting hurt.

A good fighter wouldn't have had an issue with that.

[But Pyyrha is right.]

It doesn't take a good fighter to kill someone.

[U gh she feels awful.]

[ look man, if you're used to having a instant win button, aren't you gonna press it

huh ]

That much was obvious. Anyone who was experienced would likely have chosen a less complicated method of murder. This one left multiple avenues for things to go wrong, or for Albel-san to wake up and resist or cry for help. Either they were desperate, or stupid.

I don't disagree, but our doors are soundproof, and this happened at midnight. Even if Albel was right in front of our cell doors and yelling, we wouldn't have heard him.

Mm, that's an excellent point. Nonetheless, it did still leave a chance for Albel-san to resist himself. He was the Champion Swordsman, after all.

Most people aren't trained in efficient murder.

(no subject)

goldrighthand - 2017-08-26 17:30 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

withoutred - 2017-08-26 17:42 (UTC) - Expand

Unless someone besides Albel and the killer were out after midnight. We're not required to stay in our cells after the start of night hours, only that we don't sleep outside of them. There was always the risk of getting caught by an innocent bystander.

(no subject)

tenimuho - 2017-08-26 17:27 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

power_of_dominance - 2017-08-26 17:36 (UTC) - Expand

[ARE YOU KIDDING HIM YOU ARE LITERALLY USING MAGIC WHAT THE FUCK -]

None of that particularly helps us discover who did this.

[ IT'S NOT MAGIC

ITS MYSTERY-IC

GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME ]

Not directly, no. But it helps to understand the circumstances of the howdunnit before you hone in on the whodunnit, no...?

[SPELLING IT FUNNY DOESN'T CHANGE WHAT IT IS, ERIKA]

Only if they can tell you something about who did it. You've managed to rule out . . . the dead, I suppose.

[ IT DOES WHEN WORDPLAY IS A LIFE OR DEATH MATTER ]

I suppose some people might miss it. With the given criteria, it's unlikely that it's anyone with enough physical strength to fight him on even footing, or anyone who is otherwise experienced in fast, clean kills. So no assassins, and not Akande-san.