Take...Responsibility?

[kingmakereffect]

Unlike previous weeks in the Vault, there was no specifically allotted time for investigation; for the first time, this weekend the elevator doors remain closed at the end of the first floor corridor. There's no getting down into the courtroom from here – but then, you don't need to. After all, no one is dead. Just the same, however, a crime has been committed; perhaps not one that warrants any sort of death penalty, but one of your number was attacked by someone else still walking among you. The dining hall has been chosen as the allotted meeting place for the day; it's not the same as the trial circle by a long shot, but even so, the portraits of the deceased watch the proceedings from the far wall. Ten Survivors still remain. Let's see who wanted to lower that number by one – or nine.

Comments

[garudynamic]

So it was probably a crime of opportunity?

[amygdalae]

Possibly. It doesn't seem like it was premeditated, at least.

[cherryblooded]

I'm not sure about that. The library's not very big - if the culprit had come in after Gabriel, then Gabriel would have seen him enter, and even if he'd come in before Gabriel would have noticed him unless he was hiding, wouldn't he?

[garudynamic]

So they planned it but couldn't pull through?

[cherryblooded]

Probably. Especially with a knife around - odds are he intended for this to be a stabbing and couldn't work up the nerve, went with a strangling instead.

Less messy. Easier. Also harder to actually kill someone with.

[amygdalae]

The strangling could have been a precursor to the stabbing - it only takes about two minutes to lose consciousness without any proper airflow.

[Which means that Gabriel was completely defenseless, but then... apparently stabbing didn't go through??]

[cherryblooded]

Either way, stabbing was intended, didn't happen.

[amygdalae]

More or less.

[isafraid]

Or they thought they'd done the job well enough that they didn't need to stick around.

[garudynamic]

Though with how the books were everywhere the odds are they tried to choke him and panicked when he passed out and fumbled out of there. I mean it takes a long time to legit kill someone that way, if I remember right?

[amygdalae]

Around ten minutes for irreversible damage via strangulation, yes.

[...don't ask how Bruce knows.

Just don't.]

[garudynamic]

So yeah, if the attacker either freaked out or didn't think to check if he was dead that'd make sense. Not many of us left have killed someone with their bare hands.

[amygdalae]

[A nod.]

It seems like the most likely scenario at the moment.

[captainobnoxious]

... Still doesn't help too much in figuring out who did it, though. Anyone can strangle someone and then just... not do anything, if they're scared.

[She sits back in her seat, humming gently.]

There's no penalty for not being able to solve this, is there. None of us would die if we got it wrong. Sounds like a relaxing time, honestly.

[amygdalae]

[Sigurn you are being very strange right now.]

There's no penalty, yes, but I think all of us should probably know what exactly happened last night - or at least, Gabriel should. His life was the one at risk, after all.

[And you know, talk about it. Like rational people who don't fucking kill each other.]

[captainobnoxious]

[What-- no, not strange at all. It's just the different setting, surely.]

... Yeah, guess so. Doesn't matter much to me though -- no offense to you, bookworm, love you like I do anyone else here, but if no one's dead no one's dead. This is just cutting into food time for me.

[cherryblooded]

[No this is really, really weird.]

A leader should make people take appropriate responsibility for their actions without killing them. I'd have thought this would be right up your alley.

...You're not covering for someone, are you?

[captainobnoxious]

I just don't see a point to the whole song and dance.

[cherryblooded]

...Okay, but I'm now a hundred percent more suspicious of someone and it's not you.

[goodforsomething]

They did try to off Gabe. We should do something about that.

[penduli]

They might not chicken out next time, Miss Sigrun, if we even have a next time. That's why it's important to find out who tried this time.

[amygdalae]

[He may be starting to give you A Look here, Sigrun.

Just maybe.]

And just let the culprit go this time? What happens if he tries this again and actually succeeds?

[captainobnoxious]

He won't.

[That's with certainty.]

I mean, if he couldn't do it the first time, then why the hell would he try again, especially with people on a higher alert? That's stupid.

[amygdalae]

Because we're supposed to trust each other, Captain Eide.

[Very, very pointedly now.

He doesn't know if its because of your ex-relationship with Mettaton but you're sure giving off some bad pings now, Sigrun.]

I don't know about you, but I personally don't want to keep up with this song and dance every Thursday. Wondering who's going to die next, who we have to send to their deaths again, how many more people we have to lose. I would feel better knowing and trusting that everyone else here isn't going to do this again. The fact that somebody was trying it in the first place is enough to break that trust. We need to address that before it becomes a real issue.

[captainobnoxious]

Just like most of them. He just happened to be in the right place at the wrong time, or however it goes here.