Mafia II (IC)

[SuperCommando]

Commando put a hand on Dutch’s shoulder, “It’s alright, Commander. When bad things happen people are always quick to blame authority. I’m not surprised that a finger or two might be pointed my way. And from what you say, Shiloh, one can make a logical assumption that I might in fact be the killer. But the same could be said for any of us.”

Looking around at everyone else, he spoke with a grave tone. “As Captain, it pains me to think one of my crew could commit these atrocities, but denial will not solve this crisis. Yesterday we made the mistake of executing an innocent man. If we are to survive, we cannot make that mistake again. If we lose too many crew, we may not be able to bring this ship to port. It is imperative that this time we get it right.”

The Captain looked at his tactical officer. “Lieutenant Bippwatt, I agree with Beta12’s reasoning. You were a dutiful officer, but perhaps that was all just a ruse? Justice must be dealt for these crimes, and if we must resort to yesterday’s methods, then I vote you be the one to answer for them.”

[spartan129]

Shiloh stared at Commando as the captain spoke, listening intently. The way it seemed, he was trying to draw attention away from himself...Or was he?

"It could be Bippwatt..." Shiloh said reasonably, "Alright, Lieutenant, where were you last night, eh? Were you asleep, alert, or-active in the corridors?"

He glanced at Commando. "I haven't forgotten about you, yet, Captain," he added.

[Bippwatt]

Bippwatt took a step back. "Uh. I was here. On the bridge. I had the night shift for tactical." He muttered something that sounded like "Seems like I always have the tactical night shift on this bucket that doesn't have any weapons."

"So, if your accusing me, just look at the duty roster and the bridge security feed. It's easy to prove that I didn't do it. I was sitting right there-" He points to the tactical seat. "-all night and didn't see shit till a few minutes ago when Domoa's body decided to float in front of the window port."

He turns to beta "I'm not puking because there is nothing in my stomach to come up. Also, their isn't much blood. Explosive decompression saw to that. And don't even try to say I did it because I know it was explosive decompression. Everyone here knows what happens to someone that happens to. And everyone knows that that is it." He points to Domoa's body."

He closed his eyes and centered himself. He took a moment to think. If they killed Dutch, that would make him the next ranking officer. After the Captain of course. Just great. He didn't want that responsibility. Not yet, anyway. And not any time soon.

"I some how doubt it was the Commander. With all due respect, he's too lazy to kill two people in these ways. I am strongly suspecting the Captain now. One has to wonder after all, why he hasn't been targeted. Mind you, the enemy could have done that on purpose to get in our heads and make us kill the Captain. But, it's still a possibility." He takes a deep breath. "I think it was Beta, actually. He seems pretty quick to pawn it off on someone else, despite the fact he knows less than the Captain or I about this situation, given that he wasn't here for it."

He shrugged. "My fifty cents. Take it or leave it."

[spartan129]

"I never expected to be on a crew where no one could trust each other..." Shiloh mused out loud. "Alright, Bipp, let's see that security feed. Get some credibility to your alibi and I'll forget I ever accused you. If that turns out to be the case...I don't think this was Beta, and even now I still suspect the Captain."

[Daenerys Targaryen]

"Couldn't we just check the security feeds to find who put the first body on bridge?" Beta12 thought aloud.

[SuperCommando]

"Good idea," Captain Commando replied. He walked to his chair and took a seat, tapping controls at his console. "This should clear things up once and for all..."

Accessing the files, he patched the feed onto the main screen of the bridge. After a brief loading screen, the crew of the Broken Limb became witness to a few rather anticlimactic words...

/ERROR

/FILE BRIDGESEC.592531 COULD NOT BE FOUND

"What the hell...?" Commando muttered to himself. "Hold on, let me try again."

/ERROR

/FILE BRIDGESEC.592531 COULD NOT BE FOUND

"Damn it! Okay, perhaps from earlier that day?"

/ERROR

/FILE BRIDGESEC.432531 COULD NOT BE FOUND

Commando slumped in his seat. After a few more failed tries, he sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Great, this is just perfect. It looks like the ship's security feed for that entire day has been deleted. The handiwork of the same culprit who committed the murders, no doubt. Any one of us could have erased those files, it's not terribly hard. And without any AI to report who was accessing the computer at what time, we're back to square one again, pointing fingers."

[spartan129]

"Who could've deleted it without arising suspicion?" asked Shiloh politely, "certainly it couldn't have been you, Captain?" he added with a mock uncertainty, before casting a glance at Bippwatt.

[Dutch]

So far Dutch had been watching this all quietly. Now he spoke out.

"If it was the Captain I'm pretty sure he could have killed us all at once a long time ago. He could have just ordered into a situation then kill us, or something. I think it was Bipp."

[spartan129]

"I still say it was the Captain," said Shiloh flatly.

[Bippwatt]

"Okay. What the fuck, no disrespect intended, sir?", Bippwatt said in a tone that all but said every ounce of disrespect meant. "Why the hell would I kill two people for no goddamn reason? Or, for that matter, what do you think implicates me? As far as I can see it, there is no evidence to say I did it. But, then, there is no evidence to anyone doing it."

He kicked one of the consoles, swearing when his toes jammed into his foot. "For Christ sake, man! This is insanity! Utter insanity. I have my final vote. It was Beta. I mean, practically the first words out of his mouth were to accuse someone else when he came onto the bridge. He didn't even really look at the body. He just came up with the most fucked up reason to blame me. FYI, I have Hemophobia. I bet most of you don't even know what that is. It's an irrational fear of blood. If it's wet, I start freaking out." He sighed "I get a bit wigged out when I prick my finger. Yesterday set that into high gear. If there's too much of it, I get sick." He took a deep breath. "You can easily see that there isn't any wet blood here. Normally, all blood, wet or dry, would get me. But I have trained myself to see dry blood as merely paint. It doesn't affect me as much."

He sat back down in the tactical seat. "If you're going to execute me over a phobia that seems funky to you, feel free. Just know, that, if you do, tomorrow, when another attack comes, you will regret it. Again."

[Daenerys Targaryen]

"Now for a chance to defend myself" Said beta12, still slightly shocked at the show bippwatt had just put on. "I blamed the man who without even listening to sides of stories or without even thinking named off shiloh as his vote" Beta12 said, the shock/ dissapointment in his voice rising to a slight frustration. "Bippwatt do you realy think I would kill a man just so I could be stuck with cleaning up the mess the next day? The reason I havn't looked much at the body is because I will get an upclose and personal look when yours truely" He gestured toward the captain, "Has me clean up this" He gestured toward the body. "For my defence again you have just stregthened my own vote for you from that... uhmmm... "Show"... you just put on for us."

[Bippwatt]

"Great. I didn't know having a phobia was illegal. If I had, I would have gone to some far away planet and never come back."

He lifted his hands and dropped them in a show of frustration. "Why are we even doing this!? Killing our own men because there is a killer among us!? Why don't we do this the sensible way, instead of the crazy way?! We've all lost it!"

He sighs explosively. "You have my vote. I'll be in my cabin. If you decide to kill me for some stupid phobia, that is where you will find me."

He turns to the Captain. "Don't make Beta clean up the mess again, okay, sir?" Then he walks off the bridge and enters his cabin, where he enters a log entry. Maybe his last one.

[hollowsaber]

With a sigh, Commando looked around at the men in the room. Their votes were clear, and the majority ruled. With three dead men on his hands, Command would surely have his head if there wasn’t good reason. To bad that any contact with anyone was at least 4 days away… so that wasn’t helpful to the situation at all. This time around, he put the whole crew on clean-up duty. The airlock needed to be cleaned, as well as the window and the body. This trip was becoming much more then he expected… Commando didn’t join up to shoot his own men, or watch his men shoot each other but what had to be done, had to be done.

Commando walked into the room as Bipp completed his LOG and the two looked at each other. Commando shook his head, then the sigh of depression came from Bipp’s voice. Though, this time, another body would not be handled. Commando and Bipp walked down the hallway to the life-pods, and Commando helped Bipp with his belongings. The pod was made for 5 days of slip-space travel to the closest UNSC planet, and if he was the Rebel, then Commando wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. If he was clean, then the two would surely meet again. As long as Bipp was off the ship, he was still gone.

Bipp saluted his Captain, then handed him his personal tablet. It were passworded, and Bipp winked at the man. Something was in them, but as the timer ticked in the top right of the tablet, the Captain wouldn’t be able to see whatever it was.

“Hide it, and when the time comes; you’ll see why we were really sent out here.” Bipp stated, then shut the door for the life pod and ejected himself from the ship… leaving the Captain dumbfounded. At least the situation was dealt with, but now what would the crew say when they saw the life pod flying away and dropping into slip-space? Hopefully it wouldn’t lead to more bloodshed.

[Dutch]

Wiping the nervous sweat from his brow, Dutch finished wiping the floor and tossed the mop aside, someone else would pick it up. Not even bothering to ask the captain for leave, he just saluted wearily and wandered off the bridge.

Halfway back to his quarters, Dutch heard the thumping of depressurization. Glancing out a nearby view port, Dutch saw a life pod drifting away from the ship for a moment before it flashed away into slip-space. A weary grin crossed his face, at least Bipp wasn't dead.

Slowly entering his quarters, he turned and sealed the door and set an alarm. Then he locked it and focused a camera on it. Fishing the bottle of scotch from his dresser, he took two mighty pulls before collapsing in a heap on his sheets. He fell asleep almost immediately.

[Bippwatt]

(Whoa. That was.....odd. I am very interested now. Even though I have no more part in the story. Or do I? *grin*)

[SuperCommando]

Captain Commando remained in the life pod bay for some time after Bippwatt had been ejected into space. As he stared at the digitally locked tablet, watching the blinking red countdown, he couldn't help but feel his heart sink.

"Why we were really sent out here...?" he quietly repeated to himself...

[spartan129]

Shiloh walked through the corridors of the ship, thinking about what had happened. If the traitor didn't kill him, he'd probably wind up committing suicide before this was over...