trial #2 - execution

[judgejudy]

DAY 4 (evening) Complex Population: 32 At 7PM, a tone rings out, but it's not Judy's voice that filters out over the intercom. "TALLYING VOTES. . ." The voice is mechanical and robotic, and a pause lingers in the air. It seems that the voting system is run by some kind of AI. "CONSENSUS REACHED. MAJORITY VOTE. TIE. RESULT 1. LARA CROFT. STATUS: INNOCENT. LARA, PROCEED TO THE JUDGEMENT THEATER. CHARGING..." There's the sound of clicking, and Lara will receive a very sharp shock to their ankle monitor. If they don't step into the judgement room, the shock will increase in strength every ten seconds until they're unconscious. Regardless, the voice continues to drone on. "RESULT 2. LUKE CASTELLAN, EMPLOYEE ID VTSCI62271053. STATUS: INNOCENT. LUKE, PROCEED TO THE JUDGEMENT THEATER. CHARGING..." Luke receives the same treatment, and finally, the last player is decided in the same way: "DESIGNATING EXECUTIONER. . . ELIZABETH. ELIZABETH, PROCEED TO THE JUDGEMENT THEATER. CHARGING..." — ic rulebook character statuses character profiles votes

Comments

[injectors]

post-execution:

[Well. This has been sufficiently horrifying. Lara had been nice to her, however brief their interactions had been, and Luke... She had called him her friend. He had gone along with her suggestions, speaking to her like she was a person and not just a little girl — and now they all know he was a member of the staff. Was anything he said to her genuine, or was it part of a well crafted act? She would rather not think too much about it.

So she doesn't.

Once the execution is over and Elizabeth has been tended to, she turns to the Judgement Theater, more or less hugging herself as she examines the scene. The corpses are still there, of course. They surely aren't going to dispose of themselves, as much as she wishes they would. It's still jarring to see death happen right in front of her as opposed as watching it happen through a machine, but. She must work with this, just as she promised during the trial. Squaring her shoulders and dropping her arms to her side, she turns to the person closest to her, demanding more authority than a 5'5" tall girl should have.]

You— I need your help moving the bodies to the technological lab. [And though she sounds slightly distressed by all of this, she presses on.] We must retrieve their ankle monitors before their bodies are disposed of.

[adlucem]

Can't we just take Luke's? His came off.

[It seems easier... and more respectful. Leo may not have spoken to Lara, but that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve some peace.]

[injectors]

We could. But if there is even the slightest chance of discovering a discrepancy between Luke and Lara's monitors...

[She trails off with a sigh, digging her nails into the palms of her hands in an attempt to steady herself. She doesn't want to do this, not really, but she also won't forgive herself for skimming over details. All she can really offer Leo is sad, pained smile.]

Please, forgive me. I understand this is far from ideal.

[onepunchgirl]

...I agree. Let me help carry the corpse.

[It may be cruel, but Angel is right. Both monitors should be inspected as best as possible.]

[injectors]

Thank you, Veronica.

[She is so, so sorry for what they're going to do to Lara's body. She doesn't deserve this, which is why she adds:]

I will personally take responsibility for this if nothing comes from it.

[onepunchgirl]

There's no need for that. There are a lot of unsavory realities we need to confront in this awful place, and your suggestion is sound. But lets be careful while we amputate the foot, so as not to get blood on ourselves.

[Lara might have died from trauma, but there is a sickness going around and caution should be exercised. []

[injectors]

[Sound, or a waste of time. She can only hope it's the former.]

I don't recall seeing gloves, but I'll see what can be found to protect ourselves from the blood. Perhaps a piece of cloth, or plastic...

[They're just going to have to be extra careful, aren't they? Oh, well. After a beat, she offers Veronica a thin smile.]

Let me know when you're ready to proceed.

[onepunchgirl]

If not that, we'll just need to wash our hands for an extended period to be certain we get it all off.

[She nods.]

I'm ready. I can carry her by the shoulders and you can grab the legs.

[injectors]

Very well. Then let's make the best use of what time we have left.

[And with that, she moves to where Lara's body rests. It's far from a pleasant sight, and the smell of blood makes her feel nauseous, but it's too late to back out know. She waits for Veronica to follow before bending down and grabbing the legs.]

... I'm sorry, Lara.

[And then she's pulling her weight, in a sense. Yikes.]

[onepunchgirl]

[Veronica follows, and the smell of blood is thick in the room but Veronica doesn't flinch. It's a horrible stench, but you get used to it if you're around it for long enough times. There are important things to take care of.

Veronica won't say any words to the body, having never spoke to Lara, before squatting down and hooking her arms around Lara's arms to lift her.]

If you feel like you might struggle, I can probably manage it myself.

[injectors]

Don't worry. I'll be fine.

[And even if she can't manage, she'll force herself to. The wonderful thing about being repeatedly electrocuted by your own father is that, sooner or later, you build a nice amount of tolerance to pain. That, and she would feel like shit letting Veronica do all the work just because her arm hurts or because the blood is too much for her.

That said, they should probably start heading for the Technology Lab. They have to get to the elevator to reach it, after all.]

[onepunchgirl]

[And head there they will. Veronica will do her best not to go too fast though, out of concern for Angel to keep up. Still even when she's holding back, Veronica is a bit of a naturally fast person even when lugging around a recently deceased woman.

But they do make it to the elevator at least in one piece. Veronica will hit on the first floor button once inside.]

I hope this won't take long. Hopefully if the tools we need are there, it won't take too long to amputate from the ankle.

[If she talks about this like she has done it before... well, she hasn't, but she has seen it happen due to injuries in the field.]

[injectors]

I don't believe it will.

[Neither of them have done this before, but they sure can talk the talk. Angel's tone is even, despite the subject matter. She could almost fool someone into believing that she isn't horrified by this at all.]

I believe there was an electrical saw inside the lab. We could use that to make short work of the bone.

[And up they go, to the second floor. With their combined efforts, they should be able to get Lara's body into the technology lab... and get down to business.]

[onepunchgirl]

[And that they do, lugging Lara's body onto one of the tables. Veronica heaves a loud breath once the weight is off and goes looking for the electric saw. Once she finds it she takes it over to the table, starring down at Lara's corpse without a hint of emotion on her face. It's...a horrible thing, what they're about to do, but necessary. A survivor like Lara could surely understand, if she were in their place. Or so Veronica tells herself.]

Okay, if we're ready... this might get a little messy.

[injectors]

There's no point in delaying it.

[The faster they get this done, the better. Though, she does look at the leg a little uncertainly. Since Veronica has the electric saw, she feels obligated to ask:]

Do you need me to pin down the leg?

[So it doesn't... wobble or slide while it's being sawed through. That'd be super gross.]

[mansplains]

["Near" is kind of an overstatement, considering Guy and the ladies, but he doesn't look any happier to be here, frowning at the bodies. When Angel addresses him, he straightens up a little about of instinct.]

I can grab Luke's body, but I can't get near Lara.

[he's allergic to vaginas, okay]

[injectors]

[Well... Reasonably near, in any case. Angel nods, offering Guy a thin smile in gratitude for his willingness to help. She knows this none of this is easy, and that what she's asking is considerably cruel.]

Thank you, Guy.

[Phobia of the female gender or not.]

I believe Luke was able to discard his monitor with Judy's help, but... There is still the matter of disposing of his corpse. We can't allow it to remain there, lest it begin to rot.

[mansplains]

I can't exactly say 'my pleasure', but I'm happy to do what I can. [And he'll do just as he's told, heading towards Luke's body]

Yeah. Things are bad enough without adding rotting corpses to the list. But I wouldn't say he enlisted Judy's help... more like he forced her to help.

[injectors]

["Forced her"...

She won't follow him towards Luke's body for obvious reason, but she does furrow her brows as she responds—]

Then, do you believe Judy to be an unwilling participant in all of this?

[mansplains]

I don't know. But she sure as hell isn't the one in charge, or at least that's my guess.

[He kind of considers her to be a puppet, in a case]

[Guy crouches to look at Luke better, expression hard]