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

[modissty]

Please. I insist. [He keeps holding the garment out, and after a pause, adds:] If you can clean a little off now, it would be for the best.

["For you" is implied there. Nothing can really make this sort of situation feel better, but wiping off the blood had done a lot to help him, at least.]

There are other robes that I can wear.

[tearable]

[ She's thinking, trying to collect her thoughts as her head pounds. Flashes of moments, everything like freeze frames on something she can't stop.

So now she's here - a boy's blood dripping on her pressed white blouse and Lara's blood consequence on her hands. He holds the garment out further and she feels it drape against her fingers. She'll finally tugs it into her grasp and cleans her hand off. It's just... no matter what she does, she feels as if the blood isn't washed away enough. ]

I'm sorry. I know we have limited... resources here.

[ It was a kind gesture that even now, Elizabeth can't really fully thank him for. Just apologize. ]

[modissty]

[His head dips forward a little in acknowledgment, accepting the apology as he'd have accepted a thanks in any other situation.]

It's only clothing.

[And it's only a small token. He knows the weight of a kill stays for much longer than the blood itself does, but there's nothing he can give to help alleviate that.]

...Will you be alright?

[tearable]

Were you?

[ Alright, she means. It's a simple question. He came before her - took a life just as she had to. She figures, if he can come out of this, she can as well. ]

[modissty]

[In a situation like this, there's really only one plausible answer. Getting caught up in guilt will only weight a person down, and while there's a time and a place for regret and sadness, it isn't here, where they're all like lambs to slaughter.

His head inclines forward.]

Yes. ...Continuing forward is the only option.

[tearable]

We have nothing else at the moment, so yeah. I'd be inclined to agree.

[ She's not as optimistic. She's fairly pessimistic but they were backed into a wall. They did not have anything else on their side, did they? She's tired, let her rest. ]

I just... ... we need to make sure this doesn't happen. That no one goes through what we went through.

[modissty]

[One day Elizabeth will be able to take the nap she deserves... Hopefully not because she deda.]

...I agree. If we could limit the number of people who have to deal with this, it would be ideal. [Granted, ideal doesn't always mean feasible.]

I wonder if an executioner was selected this time because it was a tie...?