Inspector Avi walked into the Chief Inspectors office in Jita 4-4 station. He was staring out of the window at the station undock. At 7:30 Eve time, it was quiet, for Jita.
"My god Avi, you look terrible, please sit." The Chief Inspector produced a bottle of Whiskey from his desk draw and poured two large glasses, passing one to Inspector Avi.
"To a successful ending?" the Chief Inspector said raising his glass.
Avi just stared at the brown liquid as he held the glass in two hands in his lap.
"I thought you'd be over the moon Avi. You did it! The killings are over now!"
"I should be happy, I know. But, all those people. Every victim after the first was a failure by us. You've read the reports I assume, what we found at the safe spot?"
"Yes" the Chief Inspector became solemn. "A dozen bodies drifting in space. But look at it this way. At least we recovered the battlecruisers flight recorder from the wreckage and were able to find the safe spot and discover the bodies. It gives the victims families closure."
"I guess. But to be honest if I were the families, I might like to be still thinking they got captured by the Blood Raiders. It would have been a more pleasant death!"
Both men drank in silence contemplating that.
“How’s the young woman doing?” ask the Chief Inspector breaking the silence.
“She’s fine. Still a bit shaken up even a week after the event. It is not everyday someone survives going to bed with a serial killer and then escapes the destruction of a battlecruiser in the space of sixty minutes. She still cannot remember exactly what happened. She said when the ship started to go down the perp ran first. She then fled the quarters, but didn’t see where he went, she just ran until she saw an escape pod hatch in the corridor and went for it. I shudder to think what would have happened if those eggers hadn’t turned up when they did. She doesn’t know how lucky she is.”
The Chief Inspector nodded.
"Are you going to the sentencing hearing tomorrow?"
"I guess so. Although it is a formality. That egger will fry for his crimes, no doubt about that. As a unanimous guilty verdict from the panel was delivered, the lead judge has no choice but to hand down the severest punishment possible. An immortal, executed."
"So, it is case closed then?"
"I suppose so. It's just that with the perp never being recovered from any of the rescue pods and his corpse never being found. He could be still alive.... technically, even though the official line is he died in the Drake when it was destroyed. Vaporised by one of the many explosions as the ship broke apart."
"You say it like you don't believe it. Do you think he survived?" asked the chief.
Avi considered the Chief Inspectors words. He knew what he meant. The bounty that Director Ogushi placed on the man's head for live capture was a lot more than the reward offered by the combined law enforcement agencies. Kirith Darkblade, the capsuleer who destroyed the Drake, might have scooped his escape pod up and sold him to the Director. They'd probably never know the full truth, although Avi had thought about what would have happened to the perp in the hands of the powerful father of one of his victims.
"May be." was the Inspectors reply finally.
"OK, I’ll ask it in a different way. Did anyone visit the good Director after the event?"
"Yes, I did myself. I had to ask the question." replied Avi "He denied holding the perp or having anything to do with him. He said he believed he died in the destruction of the Drake and that was it as far as he was concerned. Good riddance and hoped he burnt in hell for his crimes etcetera, etcetera. He was rather…. passionate."
"Do you believe him?" asked the Chief Inspector.
Avi paused and thought again.
"No, no I don't. I believe he had Marcus holed up somewhere after that egger, Kirith Darkblade, took down the Drake. That pod jockey probably scooped him up and cashed him in. I also believe that the perp died a very slow and very painful death at the hands of Director Ogushi."
"So what are you going to do about that?"
"Absolutely nothing. I have no evidence, no proof. All I have is a suspicion and a gut feeling. The Director has a huge amount of resources at his disposal not to mention political connections. Finding evidence now will be very difficult if not impossible. Plus I have a lot of work on, after all the paperwork in the last month on this case I'm low on stationary and need to sort out a trip to the store room to get some new folders!"
The Chief Inspector laughed hard and raised his glass.
"To justice?"
The Inspector smiled and raised his glass too.
"To real justice!"
-o0o-
"Vital signs stable, brain activity normal, memories intact. The clone transfer was a success. He's OK."
The two armed guards nodded to the medical technician and opened the clone revival unit. A piercing scream resonated through the room as the soundproof door was opened. It stopped suddenly as the door was fully opened. Marcus looked around naked, confused and disorientated. He had vivid memories that he was in terrible agony but looked down and his body was fine. He looked around and didn't know where he was, however the room was familiar.
"What? What is happening to me? Where am I?" he asked as the men approached.
The guards man-handled him into a wheel chair in silence and secured his ankles and wrists with straps. They pushed him through a door into a dimly lit room as Marcus continued to ask what was happening.
Marcus knew this room somehow, his brain was still foggy. He didn’t understand what had happened to him. He looked around the room and saw what was what was left of a man strapped onto a table. Blood, stripped skin and flesh dripped over the side and there was the stench of death in the air. Another man dressed as a surgeon was moving the body, as he did its head flopped over to face Marcus. Marcus' heart missed a beat. He was looking at himself, or what was left of him. Suddenly his mind cleared. He screamed, recalling the terrible pain he had been in. He looked up in desperation and saw a well-dressed man staring down at him from an observation room high above. The body was removed from the table and dumped in a corner with several others. Marcus was wheeled over and secured to the table. He recalled he’d been here before many times, there was pain, so much pain. Needles were pushed into his arm and his senses came alive as a cocktail of drugs entered his system. That triggered a memory in the back of his mind. The surgeon told him something the first time.
“Don’t worry, the drugs are not harmful. They are simply to prevent you from passing out and to make your nerves more sensitive to the pain.”
He screamed as the man in the surgical gown approached with a scalpel in his hand.
-o0o-
Up in the observation room the door opened.
"Sir, it’s time for the board meeting. If you’re not there, people will start asking questions."
"Thank you Mart. Did you get the information I asked for?"
"Yes sir. The CRU team says that the 8th clone was fine, physically, but they are starting to see some mental degradation. The mind just cannot handle this for prolonged periods. He's died a slow, horrific and painful death so many times, he's losing it. They predict by the 12th clone he'll be a jibbering wreck and it will be pointless continuing. To be honest sir, given the money that you've spent on the reward, fitting him with the implant and the cost of the clones, this is a good thing. Your personal finances aren't infinite."
The Director stared down at the scene unfolding before him as he had done the previous seven times. Marcus was screaming in agony as the specialist went to work on him.
"11 times. Is that penance enough? After what he did to my daughter?"
"I'm sorry sir, surely it will never be enough. But the board is waiting for you...."
"Fine. Keep things going here. But he is to be kept mentally stable, stop just before any breakdown. I am to be the one who presses the button on the airlock. I want to stare him in the face through the viewport as I flush that piece of shit, and any remaining clones, into the cold, hard vacuum of space. I want him to understand what's about to happen to him as that lock depressurises. I want to hear him beg, plead and finally scream for his life, just as he made my daughter do."
"Yes sir. You will have the final justice."
"Justice?" Director Ogushi spat "There is no such thing as justice here, just pure, harsh and cold retribution!"
The End.
The Alternatives.
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading. Was nice to see Notoras a bit busier than normal. Plus was fun for me to watch players duking it out to make sure they were the ones who got the kill and reward. These are the two other ways the story could have ended. The first one if the “passenger” in the cargo bay hadn’t dropped. The second was if the player who took down the Drake decided to hand the perp to Inspector Avi. Now I knew that was a long shot. 250m vs 1bn reward, but some lawful-good roleplayer could have turned up….. I suppose….. may be...... in Eve Online? OK so it was very unlikely :) Anyway here are the alternate endings I had prepared followed by the in-game email for the player who took down the Drake.
-------------------------------
OPTION 1 - Marcus killed in Drake destruction
"So, it is case closed then?" (common line to all three endings)
"Yes, pity all we've got of the perp is a frozen corpse. Would have been nice to have a trial. Then again, it's the same outcome in the end. He's dead, just killed by the capsuleer XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX rather than an official execution. I suppose you can say justice was served."
The Chief Inspector raised his glass
"To justice?"
Inspector raised his glass too.
"To justice!"
--------------------------------
OPTION 2 - Marcus Captured Alive - Handed to Law Enforcement
"So, it is case closed then?" (common line to all three endings)
"Pretty much. However I still think justice doesn't move fast enough. That sicko may be sat on death-row, but he's still alive, for now. Which is more than can be said for his 20 victims."
"20 that we know about"
"Hell, don't say that. I have enough trouble sleeping at night!"
"Sorry. When is the execution scheduled?"
"Next week. And it cannot come soon enough"
"When you look at it, we should be thankful we are here and it’s finished as it has. That capsuleer, what was his name?"
“XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
"Yes, that's ***him/her***, XXXXXXXXXX. At least ***he/she*** did the right thing handing him over to the law. The rumour was that Director Ogushi was paying four times our reward for whoever delivered him alive and discreetly to his corporation."
The Chief Inspector raised his glass.
"To justice?"
Inspector raised his glass too.
"To justice!"
"My god Avi, you look terrible, please sit." The Chief Inspector produced a bottle of Whiskey from his desk draw and poured two large glasses, passing one to Inspector Avi.
"To a successful ending?" the Chief Inspector said raising his glass.
Avi just stared at the brown liquid as he held the glass in two hands in his lap.
"I thought you'd be over the moon Avi. You did it! The killings are over now!"
"I should be happy, I know. But, all those people. Every victim after the first was a failure by us. You've read the reports I assume, what we found at the safe spot?"
"Yes" the Chief Inspector became solemn. "A dozen bodies drifting in space. But look at it this way. At least we recovered the battlecruisers flight recorder from the wreckage and were able to find the safe spot and discover the bodies. It gives the victims families closure."
"I guess. But to be honest if I were the families, I might like to be still thinking they got captured by the Blood Raiders. It would have been a more pleasant death!"
Both men drank in silence contemplating that.
“How’s the young woman doing?” ask the Chief Inspector breaking the silence.
“She’s fine. Still a bit shaken up even a week after the event. It is not everyday someone survives going to bed with a serial killer and then escapes the destruction of a battlecruiser in the space of sixty minutes. She still cannot remember exactly what happened. She said when the ship started to go down the perp ran first. She then fled the quarters, but didn’t see where he went, she just ran until she saw an escape pod hatch in the corridor and went for it. I shudder to think what would have happened if those eggers hadn’t turned up when they did. She doesn’t know how lucky she is.”
The Chief Inspector nodded.
"Are you going to the sentencing hearing tomorrow?"
"I guess so. Although it is a formality. That egger will fry for his crimes, no doubt about that. As a unanimous guilty verdict from the panel was delivered, the lead judge has no choice but to hand down the severest punishment possible. An immortal, executed."
"So, it is case closed then?"
"I suppose so. It's just that with the perp never being recovered from any of the rescue pods and his corpse never being found. He could be still alive.... technically, even though the official line is he died in the Drake when it was destroyed. Vaporised by one of the many explosions as the ship broke apart."
"You say it like you don't believe it. Do you think he survived?" asked the chief.
Avi considered the Chief Inspectors words. He knew what he meant. The bounty that Director Ogushi placed on the man's head for live capture was a lot more than the reward offered by the combined law enforcement agencies. Kirith Darkblade, the capsuleer who destroyed the Drake, might have scooped his escape pod up and sold him to the Director. They'd probably never know the full truth, although Avi had thought about what would have happened to the perp in the hands of the powerful father of one of his victims.
"May be." was the Inspectors reply finally.
"OK, I’ll ask it in a different way. Did anyone visit the good Director after the event?"
"Yes, I did myself. I had to ask the question." replied Avi "He denied holding the perp or having anything to do with him. He said he believed he died in the destruction of the Drake and that was it as far as he was concerned. Good riddance and hoped he burnt in hell for his crimes etcetera, etcetera. He was rather…. passionate."
"Do you believe him?" asked the Chief Inspector.
Avi paused and thought again.
"No, no I don't. I believe he had Marcus holed up somewhere after that egger, Kirith Darkblade, took down the Drake. That pod jockey probably scooped him up and cashed him in. I also believe that the perp died a very slow and very painful death at the hands of Director Ogushi."
"So what are you going to do about that?"
"Absolutely nothing. I have no evidence, no proof. All I have is a suspicion and a gut feeling. The Director has a huge amount of resources at his disposal not to mention political connections. Finding evidence now will be very difficult if not impossible. Plus I have a lot of work on, after all the paperwork in the last month on this case I'm low on stationary and need to sort out a trip to the store room to get some new folders!"
The Chief Inspector laughed hard and raised his glass.
"To justice?"
The Inspector smiled and raised his glass too.
"To real justice!"
-o0o-
"Vital signs stable, brain activity normal, memories intact. The clone transfer was a success. He's OK."
The two armed guards nodded to the medical technician and opened the clone revival unit. A piercing scream resonated through the room as the soundproof door was opened. It stopped suddenly as the door was fully opened. Marcus looked around naked, confused and disorientated. He had vivid memories that he was in terrible agony but looked down and his body was fine. He looked around and didn't know where he was, however the room was familiar.
The guards man-handled him into a wheel chair in silence and secured his ankles and wrists with straps. They pushed him through a door into a dimly lit room as Marcus continued to ask what was happening.
Marcus knew this room somehow, his brain was still foggy. He didn’t understand what had happened to him. He looked around the room and saw what was what was left of a man strapped onto a table. Blood, stripped skin and flesh dripped over the side and there was the stench of death in the air. Another man dressed as a surgeon was moving the body, as he did its head flopped over to face Marcus. Marcus' heart missed a beat. He was looking at himself, or what was left of him. Suddenly his mind cleared. He screamed, recalling the terrible pain he had been in. He looked up in desperation and saw a well-dressed man staring down at him from an observation room high above. The body was removed from the table and dumped in a corner with several others. Marcus was wheeled over and secured to the table. He recalled he’d been here before many times, there was pain, so much pain. Needles were pushed into his arm and his senses came alive as a cocktail of drugs entered his system. That triggered a memory in the back of his mind. The surgeon told him something the first time.
“Don’t worry, the drugs are not harmful. They are simply to prevent you from passing out and to make your nerves more sensitive to the pain.”
He screamed as the man in the surgical gown approached with a scalpel in his hand.
-o0o-
Up in the observation room the door opened.
"Sir, it’s time for the board meeting. If you’re not there, people will start asking questions."
"Yes sir. The CRU team says that the 8th clone was fine, physically, but they are starting to see some mental degradation. The mind just cannot handle this for prolonged periods. He's died a slow, horrific and painful death so many times, he's losing it. They predict by the 12th clone he'll be a jibbering wreck and it will be pointless continuing. To be honest sir, given the money that you've spent on the reward, fitting him with the implant and the cost of the clones, this is a good thing. Your personal finances aren't infinite."
The Director stared down at the scene unfolding before him as he had done the previous seven times. Marcus was screaming in agony as the specialist went to work on him.
"11 times. Is that penance enough? After what he did to my daughter?"
"I'm sorry sir, surely it will never be enough. But the board is waiting for you...."
"Fine. Keep things going here. But he is to be kept mentally stable, stop just before any breakdown. I am to be the one who presses the button on the airlock. I want to stare him in the face through the viewport as I flush that piece of shit, and any remaining clones, into the cold, hard vacuum of space. I want him to understand what's about to happen to him as that lock depressurises. I want to hear him beg, plead and finally scream for his life, just as he made my daughter do."
"Yes sir. You will have the final justice."
"Justice?" Director Ogushi spat "There is no such thing as justice here, just pure, harsh and cold retribution!"
The End.
Kirith Darkblade and the Wreckage of the Drake (plus some rat missiles)
The Alternatives.
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading. Was nice to see Notoras a bit busier than normal. Plus was fun for me to watch players duking it out to make sure they were the ones who got the kill and reward. These are the two other ways the story could have ended. The first one if the “passenger” in the cargo bay hadn’t dropped. The second was if the player who took down the Drake decided to hand the perp to Inspector Avi. Now I knew that was a long shot. 250m vs 1bn reward, but some lawful-good roleplayer could have turned up….. I suppose….. may be...... in Eve Online? OK so it was very unlikely :) Anyway here are the alternate endings I had prepared followed by the in-game email for the player who took down the Drake.
-------------------------------
OPTION 1 - Marcus killed in Drake destruction
"So, it is case closed then?" (common line to all three endings)
"Yes, pity all we've got of the perp is a frozen corpse. Would have been nice to have a trial. Then again, it's the same outcome in the end. He's dead, just killed by the capsuleer XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX rather than an official execution. I suppose you can say justice was served."
The Chief Inspector raised his glass
"To justice?"
Inspector raised his glass too.
"To justice!"
--------------------------------
OPTION 2 - Marcus Captured Alive - Handed to Law Enforcement
"So, it is case closed then?" (common line to all three endings)
"Pretty much. However I still think justice doesn't move fast enough. That sicko may be sat on death-row, but he's still alive, for now. Which is more than can be said for his 20 victims."
"20 that we know about"
"Hell, don't say that. I have enough trouble sleeping at night!"
"Sorry. When is the execution scheduled?"
"Next week. And it cannot come soon enough"
"When you look at it, we should be thankful we are here and it’s finished as it has. That capsuleer, what was his name?"
“XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
"Yes, that's ***him/her***, XXXXXXXXXX. At least ***he/she*** did the right thing handing him over to the law. The rumour was that Director Ogushi was paying four times our reward for whoever delivered him alive and discreetly to his corporation."
The Chief Inspector raised his glass.
"To justice?"
Inspector raised his glass too.
"To justice!"
So they are cloning Marcus to kill him over and over again?
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightfully cruel punishment for this bastard.
Also I never realized until reading this chapter that you actually worked all this into the game. Great idea! Did you fly the capsuleer's Drake for the prize fight?
Yes, I created an account and made the Characters for the Capsuleer and Inspector Avi.
DeleteKitted out a nice Drake and waited in the system hinted at. Two found me right away!
http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13832281
Wow you even fitted it with all that expensive stuff Petyr had on his ship. Kudos to you for spending all the ISK for the sake of a story.
ReplyDeleteToo bad for the winner that the loot fairy was a bit stingy on this one.
Wish I could have been there for this... Can't wait for another live action story though! Or perhaps I could assist you with that as well.... Ive got a couple characters I could use for it.
ReplyDelete