third trial

[airlockedmods]

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

The two lines of sentry robots are there again, 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. The lights on Alec, John, Cheryl, Apollo, Mako and Rideaux's podiums have been turned off and their floating grey scale portraits have joined the three from last week.

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, piece together what happened and find who took out the Champion Balladeer, the Champion Investi- [He stops to clear his throat.] The Champ- [He stops again to cough, once then twice.] The- [More coughing now, harder and hoarser. When he finally stops he wipes something dark and thick from the corner of his mouth.] Fuck it, the five dead ones. 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.

Comments

[rickdiculous]

....is that ink. Did a fucking tentacle jizz in your mouth.

[theoversight]

Not this week, mate.

[neverheardofhim]

[ Varric trudged into the bay, brows drawn tightly together. Up until now, he'd done his best to at least maintain a mirthful front. Easy to do, when you didn't feel too fondly about the victims.

But he'd seen Mako's face, seen how he'd helpless clutched at his scarf as he was stricken down. It was exacerbated all the more, knowing the fates of some of his own friends back home, to say nothing of the list of those he'd lost here.

A strip of fabric -- his own, he was quick to clarify -- was set out, featuring a reddish dust. Both notes were also placed on his podium, and read out loud when time permitted.]

Mako was stabbed cleanly through. He had some scrapes and red dust on his hands. Looked like he and Cheryl put up a damn good fight. Knocked over some pots in the process -- might be where that dust came from, and it might be wise to start with checking each other for it.

[ All said, Varric lowered his head and stared down at his hands. What a mess. He hadn't gotten to know Apollo, but she seemed alright. Reminded him of the staunch, business-like nature of Aveline. Cheryl was good company, had made the dwarf laugh on more than one occasion. And John was good company, just as backwards as Varric felt. ]

Shit. Let's get these assholes, alright?

[andneversaydie]

...D'you...

[look. look, it's been a rough day, but she's trying. a lot of people she was close to are dead all at once. she halts a bit, then continues.]

D'you think it's more than one person who killed 'em, or could it just be one? I mean, the way things were said earlier on in the week, people were kinda encouraged to go for a lot of different people.

[empathiser]

[Got a bit of a cough there, Mr Dudely? It's enough to get him a long, searching look from Will before he turns his attention to the trial. ]

I examined the solitary cells, where Rideaux's body was. Seeing as we've got... a lot of bodies to talk about, I'll just list what I found in one go.

[ Will's got his P.I.P up, looking at the diagram of Rideaux's body. ]

According to the case file, he died of penetrative trauma. There's a stab wound on the back of his neck that looks like the actual cause of death, and I noticed some flecks of blood around his mouth and some black discolouration around his scalp on the right side when I was examining the stab wound.

He's got a large bruise on his stomach, and both of his legs are broken - right at the femurs. From the state of them it looked like they were crushed when they were broken, rather than snapped. And he had a bite mark on his hand. Someone really did a number on him.

[ And then he's digging in his pocket – of his actual clothes, spare a moment to thank the RNG gods for returning normal clothing to him at last – and pulls out a rather intricate and fancy looking watch, which he places in view on his podium. ]

This was just outside the cell. It would've been visible from through the flap into the cell, but it looked just a little too far to reach it from inside the cell. I'm assuming it was Rideaux's.

[tenimuho]

I only saw John's body myself, but based on the wound diagram, Rideaux and Apollo took a lot more damage than the rest.

[goldrighthand]

[Akande has the note from John at his own podium]

John showed no signs of struggle after he was lured to the mess hall. Though- his charms were destroyed, as was his guitar. Cut strings. From what I can tell, he did not defend himself.

[tenimuho]

...Cutting the guitar's strings sounds a lot like overkill, unless you really didn't like music.

[what did the guitar ever do to you, mysterious culprit]

[tokencanadian]

[That coughing... gets a raised brow from Pyrrha, but it seems they're going to have to continue regardless.]

I examined... Apollo, in the exercise yard. [And Fukawa was there too, she can talk more about the wounds.] She was... impaled on that pile of metal pipes. There were multiple wounds all over her body from it.

[It hurts her to say. Ugh.] There wasn't any signs of a fight, although she looked really angry from something. There was also a medium bruise on the back of her head.

[And the note is definitely burning in her pocket, so she's taking that out.]

I suspect she was attacked from behind.

[empathiser]

[Hold up a moment.]

She looked angry...? So did Rideaux. And the room itself felt angry.

And resigned. Someone who'd been in that room was resigned to something.

[toomanybaseballs]

[Leon's listening to these testimonies and... He thinks he realizes something.]

Hang on, I think I'm beginning to see a pattern here.

First off, all the victims were stabbed somehow. All of 'em died of being stabbed.

Also, nobody had a chance to resist even though at least one or two of these folks were fighters. Either the culprit knew everyone's weaknesses or they were just really quick and strong.

And going off what Oda said, three of the victims were given notes.

[tenimuho]

Will said Rideaux's legs were crushed. You'd definitely have to be very strong for that.

[goldrighthand]

Four. Three match, and one does not. Rideaux had no note.

Were the wounds similar?

[power_of_dominance]

[Soma's been quiet until now, his gaze fixed on Dudely even though he's been listening. They need to have another talk, it seems.]

Do we know what made the wounds on everyone but Apollo? The source of her injuries was obvious, but were weapons found near anyone else?

[tuskenlancer]

[ The podiums on both sides of CT's are dark, now, and Mako's empty podium on her right is especially upsetting. She braces herself, gripping the sides of her podium tight, and takes a deep breath before presenting what she'd found. ]

I...I examined Cheryl. She was stabbed in the stomach, but there was no weapon. She...she looked angry, but I don't think she was fighting when she died. She had her hand in her pocket, and it was holding....this.

[ She produces the note, still stained with blood, and her eyebrows draw down. ]

Someone lured her there, just like the others. And then killed her.

[empathiser]

What's scrubbed out at the top of the note?

[Trying to read it from the opposite side of the room is tough.]

El----?

DIRT CHECK

[andneversaydie]

Alright. Um. So let's all check each other and see if there's any of this red flowerpot dust on us, because it's... a lead, I guess? Yeah.

[...SHE'S. SHE'S TRYING, OKAY. IT'S FOR POKEMOM AND COUNTRY DAD AND ALSO MAKO I GUESS.]

[andneversaydie]

[for the record, Mozu is not a filthy girl.]

[goldrighthand]

[Shirtless Akande is dustless, thank you.]

[power_of_dominance]

[It's not stripping so it's cool.

There's no trace of red dust on Soma.]

[tenimuho]

[Oda's in Akande's mostly-blue masquerade outfit, so it's pretty obvious that there's nothing red on his clothes.

I mean, there's his red hair, but you might have to ask him to bend down to check that out, he's like a foot taller than Mozu.]

tw child death for this entire thread

[tenimuho]

[Oda tries. He tries to come up with another reason, another excuse, something that could make suspicion turn from him and to anyone else. Anyone else.]

I...

[But there's nothing.]

...So that's it, isn't it.

[Oda exhales, and suddenly seems so much more tired. Like he's been running on fumes this entire week.]

I can't save my children.

[There's no point anymore.]

[goldrighthand]

...Oda, remind me. How many children did you have?

VOTING

[theoversight]

[Blaze has been very quiet this trial, watching silently. His expression is hard to read but his gaze is on Oda and when he speaks there's an odd note of resignation in his voice.]

Put in your votes.

[tenimuho]

>CHAMPION CABIN BOY

[There's no hesitation.

...He's so, so tired.]

PARTING WORDS

[theoversight]

[When the voting is done Blaze Dudely glances down at Price's tablet and grazes his finger across the screen. Two robots break formation from the line-up and...don't grab Oda like they did with Diego and Alec. They stand on either side of him with their arms at their sides and wait.]

Sakunosuke Oda. Have you got any parting words for your fellow Champions before you face your punishment?

[tenimuho]

[Oda doesn't move from his spot. He doesn't meet anyone's gaze.]

...If you're making a memorial for Cheryl, her real name is Elaine. I think she'd like it if you used that instead. And John's charms against evil do work - that's why I cut the guitar strings.

I have some letters I wrote after last week's trial, that Leon said he could give out. I don't know if you want to read them now, but... they're sincere.

...That's all.

EXECUTION:Flawless Failure

[airlockedmods]

[With Oda’s final words done the floodlight illuminating his name goes dark and, a few seconds later, so do the rest of the lights in the docking bay. The lights stay down for a long minute with just the ominous mechanical sounds with no clear origin and whatever sounds the Champions themselves make in the blackness.

Then there’s a soft click and mechanical whirr of a projector kicking on somewhere in the background. With Blaze Dudely’s metallic black ship as the screen, a video begins:

It starts with an empty hallway. The seconds trickle by into a full minute before Oda finally comes into view. He’s walking slowly, flanked by a robot on either side, with his head bowed. The robots aren’t holding him like they did for Diego and Alec and it almost looks like they’re escorts rather than executioners. Halfway down the hallway the robots stop and both touch Oda’s shoulders. He stops and raises his head just enough to see what made them stop and as he does the camera slowly tracks from Oda at one end of the hallway to Blaze Dudely at the other.

He’s paused at the end of the hall, as if waiting for Oda to notice his presence, before he approaches. Oda doesn’t move, doesn’t try to get away even after the robots drop their hands when they realize he’s not going anywhere.

When he’s close enough Blaze reaches out and touches the Champion Cabin Boy’s shoulder with his flesh hand and squeezes in a way that almost looks reassuring. He says something but without sound it’s impossible to hear what it is. Oda’s expression doesn’t change from it’s dead-eyed gaze except to close his eyes. He looks so, so tired.

After a beat Blaze steps back a few feet and reaches into the pocket of his heavy leather jacket with his human hand to pull out a small gun. He lifts it, leveling it at Oda’s chest with a somber expression. He says something else that the Champions in the courtroom can’t hear and the only response Oda gives is the vaguest nod.

The gun fires, Blaze’s arm jerking slightly from the recoil, and Oda drops. He lays on the floor, staring blankly up at the ceiling as red slowly blossoms over his white shirt right over his heart.

With Oda’s death the video ends after lingering for another minute and the lights in the courtroom come back up. Blaze Dudely is gone from his usual place on the repair deck but the way the robots are turning to stare at everyone it might be best to leave now.]