The Mock Trial

[airlockedmods]

[Jesse McCree is dead, the first victim of, what the Overseers seem to hope, is a long game of motives and murder for whatever their reasons. With the investigation completed, C.E.C.E.'s voice comes over the system and directs the Champions to proceed to the locked elevator door at the end of the hallway. Once all Champions are on board, the elevator begins a slow descent down beyond any area that they've been able to explore so far. At least the elevator music is charming.

When the elevator door opens, the Champions enter a courtroom with 21 podiums arranged in a circle and each one marked with a name. McCree's face grins casually at the 20 surviving members from one of the podiums, a greyscale portrait in honor of the dead.]

Congratulations. We have now entered the trial portion of the test. I trust that you will do your best to determine who disturbed the peace by committing murder. Once the culprit has been found, they will face an appropriate punishment for their crime. If you fail to determine the culprit, however, they will be allowed to leave the space station and the rest of you will face punishment instead.

Comments

[curdle]

[ She keeps quiet through much of the discussion of the kill mechanics, because y'all are nasty, before clearing her throat. ]

If I may ask all assembled...

[ get it together girl, nobody is going to get excommunicated this time! just killed maybe ]

When did you break fast last evening? And did any see Goodman McCree at table? We found wrappings for two meals left behind, like as not eaten before anyone came this morn.

[ She produces said wrappers, because of course she brought garbage to the trial. It's more sanitary than touching the corpse! ]

It may be this was his last meal.

[semperperatus]

...No.

[Crap.]

Thomasin, right?

[curdle]

That is my name.

[ what did she do ]

[semperperatus]

That...that was a good find. I'm sorry you have to...yeah.

[motioning to all this. You did nothing wrong but be a good kid ok]

So two meals...

[voltrounds]

There was a notebook, too, with some pages torn out. I don't know if the missing pages are related, but it was at the same table.

[semperperatus]

A notebook? Did anyone bring that or the pages?

[voltrounds]

[Ricky holds up the notebook.]

Other than the missing pages, there isn't really anything that stands out about it.

[semperperatus]

Is there anything written in it?

[voltrounds]

Not anymore. But the missing pages must be somewhere.

[returnofme]

[Luke raises his hand.]

I found torn-up pages in the kitchen garbage.

[damnfourthemerald]

Then was there anything written on them? [Why not just dunk them in water or something, if it's incriminating, for real, who just throws evidence in the garbage come on people.]

[semperperatus]

[! /snake]

Were you able to reassemble them?

[refusedtoleave]

We were called here shortly after he found them. There was something written there though.

[She didn't know what it said.]

[returnofme]

Escape and sacrifice. I brought the scraps with me, so we could try to reassemble them now.

[strikemonster]

That would probably be useful. [She hasn't been saying much because ew, re: being impaled and shit, but this is UNRELATED YAY.] Is there anything distinctive about the handwriting?

[damnfourthemerald]

So either he was particularly hungry, or he ate with someone. [McCree's a big boy. Both are just as likely.]

[thetimebomb]

So there's a good chance that the killer is someone he trusted, then.

[She wasn't close to McCree, so she couldn't quite pinpoint who he was in good relation with.]

[have_a_heart]

Probably. So he was invited to eat but was distracted and killed instead?

[curdle]

I think not all at once. Both meals were empty.

[have_a_heart]

Then they took him to the gravity room afterwards. All right.

[curdle]

[ She nods. ]

If it were one he trusted, mayhaps they had some excuse or errand. And then...

[ splat ]

[damnfourthemerald]

Going into zero g after eating doesn't sound like a wise idea, generally. [Just sayin'.] Perhaps they met there for another reason, with the gravity on.

[have_a_heart]

Why? Is it like going into the pool after eating?

[stitch_in_time]

Bit like it, yeah. Flippin' all around in the air generally isn't something you want to do on an empty stomach.

[curdle]

[ oh gross

a good point but gross ]

For what purpose, then? Or is it possible that he was forced inside once the murderer had their rail?