Log: Entering the 'find out' phase

[lastdecember]

CHARACTERS: It's a party, everyone's welcome!
TIME: 8/11/2524, immediately after the latest Status Report and for a few days after that
LOCATION: JAIL (the ship's brig, down at the very front of the ship) -- network text options also available!
WARNINGS: Talk of attempted murder, both past and potentially future


Given the ongoing operational crisis, there are three courses of action that may be considered; indefinite confinement (resource-intensive), re-initiation of cryo sleep (inefficient due to crew size), or psychological evaluation with restricted access and monitoring (most efficient course).

Final determination will be made by the Security Division.

From his cell, Wolfwood reads and rereads L3TH3's message over and over again. It's better than he'd been expecting, but he'd resigned himself to being put back into cold storage and only seeing daylight again at his court-martial. Now it's sounding like he's going to be allowed to remain part of the crew -- so long as those assholes in Security agree -- but with monitoring, and psychological evaluation.

Even clenching his hands into fists doesn't stop the shaking. He can't bring himself to regret what he did -- especially not after learning the miserable state the captain's in -- but if he'd known that the punishment for his actions would be a short leash at a doctor's whim? He might have made different choices.

Signing up for this mission might have been a mistake.

Comments

[plantussy]

[ He wouldn't be surprised if he was told to fuck off, honestly. Especially with the way Wolfwood turns from him. ]

I know he's a possible danger, but what about what he wants? What about finding a cure? Dr. Jiaoqiu and Dr. Hilbert seem like skilled people and aren't under duress while researching it like the former crew was.

[ Vash fiddles a bit with his coffee cup. ]

We're moving. The shields work. The quarantine hasn't been breached for 20 years. We have time to figure it all out.

[lastdecember]

[ What Saverem's saying makes good sense, but it's not enough to assuage Wolfwood's anxiety. ]

There haven't been people walkin' around the ship for the last twenty years either.

[ Drake's presence, and the disease living inside him, is a time bomb as far as Wolfwood's concerned. Somebody gets that bridge door open, somebody makes a mistake with the ventilation or the waste processing or any of the other systems that Drake's using to stay alive, and they're all dead. ]

It doesn't matter what he wants. We're talkin' about one life to save everyone else on this ship. It's worth it.

[plantussy]

[ True, there hasn't been... but it's not like the ship is falling apart. The engine, yes, because that needed to be serviced, but the rest was fine. Whatever anyone may think of L3TH3 - Vash included - he's pretty sure the AI isn't going to let the mission fail.

That would include risking the life of the crew.

...besides, who is the one that has been closest to the Bridge? Who messed with the ventilation? In the need to save, Wolfwood could have doomed them all just as easily. ]

Nobody has the right to take a life, Wolfwood. They're all equally precious.

[ Vash sighs and runs his flesh hand over his face. ]

Doesn't he deserve better? He trained us, he started this whole mission. Isn't it better to find a way to help him?

[lastdecember]

[ Doesn't that just prove his point though? If Wolfwood could get that close to contamination while running on no sleep for a week and scared out of his mind, just think what somebody with the slightest bit of competence could do! It's too much of a risk to keep Drake alive. ]

Best help for him now is a quick death, and a legacy of tryin' to do the right thing.

[ Saverem really is soft-hearted, isn't he? It's too bad that the real world doesn't have much use for softness -- it's nice, even if it's a fantasy. ]

You really want to help him, get the damn AI to wake up some command crew.

[plantussy]

[ Who would do such a thing? Aside from Wolfwood, everyone seemed mentally sound so far. Not that Vash doesn't understand that people can do completely irrational things when pushed - he's been in the middle of that several times - but messing with the Bridge would be more of a murder-suicide rather than 'fixing'. ]

The easiest thing isn't the right thing.

[ He says softly, and then steps away from the hard light barrier. ]

I will try to see how much access Rin has, though. Maybe it can help us with getting more crew.

[lastdecember]

[ Who would try to get on to the bridge? Scientists. Wolfwood's opinion of scientists is rock-bottom low. Those bastards will do anything, risk anything just to sate their curiosity, and fuck anyone who gets in their way.

Saverem steps back, and Wolfwood folds his arms tightly across his chest, refusing to let himself turn around. It's better if Vash leaves. There's nothing for him here but a reminder of how cruel the real world is. ]

Yeah. You do that.

[plantussy]

[ Vash rubs the back of his neck slightly and then nods. ]

...stay safe in there, okay? I'll bring you more coffee tomorrow.

[ With that, he's going to slowly head for the door with a thousand thoughts in his head. Like how all of this felt so familiar. ]