fourth 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 Oda, Akande and Leon's podiums have been turned off and their floating grey scale portraits have joined the six from last week.

Blaze Dudely stands on a repair deck on top of his ship, which looms over the proceedings ominously. His expression is still hard to read but his arms are folded across his chest and if you squint close enough there's a somberness about him that hasn't been at other trials.]

Ya'll know how this goes by now. [He's in no mood for pageantry this time.] Take the time ya need but don’t bore me.

Comments

[empathiser]

You don't just call someone out to a solitary cell without causing suspicion. Not normally, and definitely not here.

[Hell, Rideaux died in that same cell last week. There's no way they would't be on edge about those cells.]

Aside from everything bleach related, there's... the coin, the cloth and we still need to look at those trauma wounds at some point.

[tokencanadian]

A coin? [???] Does it have any distinguishing features?

[empathiser]

Nothing that I recognised. Other than it being gold.

Here. [He holds it out for her to look at.]

mods...?

[tokencanadian]

Thank you.

[She'll accept the coin in an outstretched hand and peer at it closely. Anything too remarkable about it?]

[airlockedmods]

[It's a gold coin. It has a woman's head on one side, and three flowers forming a sort of crest on the reverse.]

[nightcure]

[ .... hopefully Soma will eventually let Noctis go because-- ]

What--

[ He recognizes it. ]

[tokencanadian]

[Looks up?]

Is... something wrong, Noctis?

[nightcure]

That's--

That's mine.

[tokencanadian]

[She pauses, the ramifications of that statement taking a moment to get through to her.]

...Did you find this one morning? Have you had this? [Another pause.] Be honest, please.

[nightcure]

[ He takes in a deep breath. ]

I got it last week.

[tokencanadian]

[....]

Someone could have stolen it. There... if you didn't have it on you at all times, someone could have...

[nightcure]

... Yeah, probably.

[ no one is having fun here, are they ]

[tokencanadian]

[She thinks back to earlier this week, back when Noctis was there to comfort her when she was at her worst. When she remembered the terrible thing she did, and how she couldn't come back from that.]

You didn't do it. It's too... It can't be. There must be an explanation for all of this.

[empathiser]

[?]

Something wrong?

[nightcure]

[ Well..... ]