NOTW XXXIX: Impending Retribution Game Thread

[Earthling]

You know I wouldn't mind seeing Seon get his drug back but also spend a night in the brig, it might do some to ease our concerns to put Seon there.

Mostly I'm not sure we've talked enough about what we all see as really important - for me, I think, it's the ship's operation first and foremost. A lot of us can do things to Stuff, but some are able to and intend to do things, to other People. Even if he meant no harm it appears this psychiatrist is strictly the latter and we wouldn't affect anything useful to the ship's operation by having him spend a night locked up; and if he did mean harm then we'd help prevent it and sort things out with the good doctor.

Also behind my reasoning, I don't see a pressing desire to execute someone today and no real alternative seems palatable right now, I'd recommend we find a lazy or inactive crewman to keep second in our voiced suspicions to make sure the brig is our course of action however.

 

[DaveShack]

I find it interesting that everyone seems to be ignoring the elephant on deck. Didn't we give someone a gun just yesterday? Not that there is necessarily a shortage of firearms on a military vessel of course, but perhaps it would be good to rule out the one gun we know about. Unfortunate there doesn't seem to be a ballistics lab handy...

Job well done by the crew getting so many things repaired. At least we don't seem short of mechanics. We're due a report on what compartment the master key was used to open, right? The rest must have been covered by people who had access. And we'll need to be figuring out who might have bridge access since there have been two incidents there already. But that's complicated by needing to give someone access to fix it.

We probably should not put all our eggs in the same basket so to speak. I don't think our captain should need to concern himself with distributing the supplies. You could give the crate to me and I'd handle that.

I'm not sure who to send to the brig, if anyone. If someone is locked up and there is less or no sabotage, that might point to guilt, while if events continue undiminished then it probably points to innocence. However that benefit might be outweighed by the loss of whatever ability the person has. What if it's a key mechanic and something important doesn't get fixed? I think we need more information about who can do what.

 

[CCRunner]

I have to agree with Daveshack on the issue of the crate. While I am sure Commander Methos is perfectly capable of handling everything that comes his way, I believe it is best to spread supplies around the ship.

 

[Takhisis]

<snip>Lastly, someone entered the Hangar and repaired the ship’s Apache to perfect condition. The helicopter can now fly again.</snip>

How instersting… there's a lot of peopel with keys wandering about.

On the damaged Deck sat an unopened Crate with a note on it. The new Captain Methos picked up the note and read it aloud so the rest of the crew could hear.

“Here are the supplies requested. Enjoy! Command.”

Get the bomb squad!!

Spoiler :

Since the crate was sent to us on official basis, then its obvious that crate should go to me and I'll pass out the contents to those who can use them.

Seriously, get it checked otu, it possibly is a trap.

If it was not for PO Seon's own words, we wouldn't know that PO Seon had ever given the drugs to LC Love. Tell us, PO civplayah - why in the world would PO Seon tell everyone he gave the drugs to LC Love if he used them to kill the Lieutenant Commander? Do you really think our psychiatrist is that daft?

Seon? He is a bold one in anyc ase, sir, he might be playing a trick on us, by hiding where everyone can see him.

And I think this Seon/Love thing is just a distraction. I find it hard to believe that Seon would announce a connection so openly between him and Love if he was the killer. Instead I will ask that some of the quieter crew members speak up and voice their own opinions. Do you have anything to add Niklas?

Why pick on lurkers so early Frozen In Ice, Apprentice Seaman?

 

[Camikaze]

I find it interesting that everyone seems to be ignoring the elephant on deck. Didn't we give someone a gun just yesterday? Not that there is necessarily a shortage of firearms on a military vessel of course, but perhaps it would be good to rule out the one gun we know about. Unfortunate there doesn't seem to be a ballistics lab handy...

With all due respect, sir, I think you're barking up the wrong tree. Both Whitower and the Lt. Commander were killed in exactly the same fashion, so it would seem reasonable to conclude that it wasn't Whitower's revolver that did Love in.

I also concur with our Seaman Takhisis here that this crate seems most likely to be a trap of some sort. We don't know where it came from, it just appeared. It smells suspicious to me. Perhaps we have an explosives expert amongst us that could come in handy?

Now what do we know about Love? We know he was killed in the same manner as Whitower, and we can assume that he hadn't yet taken this experimental drug (or else we wouldn't still be able to hand it around, right?). We also know that at his death, he was innocent. This would appear to indicate that Recruit ATPG's assumption as to the nature of the drug must be incorrect; if Love was in fact a serial killer to be cured by the drug, he would've presumably had to consume the drug in order to become innocent. Yet the drug is not consumed. Could it be that it is in fact the other way around and we have a crazy psychologist on our hands, trying to turn the otherwise innocent Love into a killer? Either way, I'd be reluctant to put the drug back in its original hands, but I'll defer judgement on where exactly it should go for now.

 

[Askthepizzaguy]

Now what do we know about Love? We know he was killed in the same manner as Whitower, and we can assume that he hadn't yet taken this experimental drug (or else we wouldn't still be able to hand it around, right?)

OOC:

Spoiler :

An interesting point. But we don't know if the drug is single-use or not.

A bottle of pills, for example, wouldn't be used up in a single dose. Then again I may be thinking too realistically.

We also know that at his death, he was innocent. This would appear to indicate that Recruit ATPG's assumption as to the nature of the drug must be incorrect; if Love was in fact a serial killer to be cured by the drug, he would've presumably had to consume the drug in order to become innocent. Yet the drug is not consumed. Could it be that it is in fact the other way around and we have a crazy psychologist on our hands, trying to turn the otherwise innocent Love into a killer?

Spoiler :

This theory is creative and also plausible.

YARRR MATEY!!! I like the way yer thinkin'.

 

[Winston Hughes]

Having listened intently to the preceding conversation, Apprentice Hughes sidles up to Petty Officer Seon...

You, uh, got any more experimental drugs, doc?

 

[PaulusIII]

"Regarding that crate, there's one thing we need to know first, sir.

Did anybody send for supplies?

If not, then I concur with Seaman Takhisis that we should probably treat it as being a booby trap."

"Also, the experimental drug should go to Captain Methos so he can investigate whether the drug has been used. Knowing whether the late Lt. Commander has used some of it might prove instrumental in determining the Psychologist's allegiance."

 

[TheForestAuro]

"I trust Seon's judgement on where his medicine shall go - He knows what his concoctions can do and I feel as if he would be the best to re-acquire his property. I also think those arrayed against him seek to distract from our true enemies aboard this ship. Romanichine, you seem quick to cast disfavor on our psychologist."

 

[Diamondeye]

"I think there's more than one gun in the hands of people on deck. That said, the relatively scarce amount of shots and the precision of the hits certainly makes it plausible that a weapon much like a revolver was used. I think a rifle or something automatic or sub-automatic would leave a lot more of a mess, excuse me for saying."

The Commander has showed up again, somehow conjuring up a glass of amber liquid in his hand on the time he was away. "I... Don't know about that crate. I'd be willing to examine it, if need be. I don't think the saboteurs would use tricks like this - which might be voted to themselves and as such be rendered unusable, when they are trodding around at night with access to most of the ship."

He takes a sip of liquor before continuing. "On that note; If we trust the Captain's source concerning the demolition charges, a drop of explosions would actually indicate that one of the saboteurs were imprisoned the night before, and not on the night of the inactivity. It'd also give us a good way of making sure the crate is not a trap if we leave it alone. But I think any supplies that Command might have sent would be useful to get our hands on as soon as possible, and I'm pretty convinced it's not a booby trap. So I'd still like to take a look at it."

 

[Seon]

Two shots to the chest and a single shot to the head... The murderer is a marine using a semi-automatic pistol.

 

[Renata]

Good morning, boys. I've been thinking about a few things. But first some things I want to get off my chest. So to speak.

Point the first. I repaired the conduit last night, using the Master Key for access. I had a specialized repair kit on me. I suspect there are more such repair kits about for those ship capabilities which are still listed as "offline" -- may I suggest that those who might be able to fix them get started? Thanks much.

Point the second. My main need for access being past, I am wishing to hand off the Master Key to someone who both has the liberty to go around holding doors for people, and who is willing to make himself accountable for his actions (to me or to someone else). Applications are being accepted in my quarters.

Point the third. Having asked around (that is, read the OP carefully) and talked about it some, it seems the enemies we are facing are something like the following:
-- a group of rogues who are out to take over the ship. (Victory condition likely: kill 'em all. Likely responsible for Whitower and Love's deaths. Means of killing thus far, handgun.)
-- a group of saboteurs who may be out to destroy the ship entirely. (Victory condition likely: destroy the ship. Likely responsible for the major compartment damage, may or may not be responsible for the voltage spike that took out a number of key systems. Ability to kill people is quite possibly, though not certainly, limited.)

I see the following set of motivations stemming from that. Both sets of bad guys need to keep the ship out of port (which would end the game in favor of the innocents), hence must strive to delay us. However, the certain direct killers of the two (the rogues), are presumed to wish the ship to stay afloat for their own purposes. They will not, I expect, be over-eager to kill those who are capable of making major repairs. (With the possible exception of repairs to certain systems. Not sure.) Similarly, the saboteurs, even if they can kill repair people, may not wish to do so very rapidly, given some of them are no doubt hiding among our numbers, and won't wish to stand out as lone survivors. Hence, reporting repairs openly -- making ourselves accountable for our actions -- may be relatively safe, at least for us. (Perhaps not so much for people with other talents who may have been wishing to hide in the crowd.)

Point the fourth. I have learned that it may well be possible to gain the talent to perform two personal abilities (or personal plus universal, not sure) on the same night. Knowing this possibility exists also implies that the talent may exist already, in one or more people. I don't have to spell out the implications, right, particularly when combined with Methos' information from yesterday? Especially as regards sabotage, we need to keep track carefully of where people are on a given night. "I was repairing Navigation on Night Three as you can see in the write-up, so the explosion there on Night Four couldn't have been my doing" won't work as wholly solid alibi. For that matter, nor does "I was repairing Navigation, so I couldn't have been shooting Backwards Logic." On the other hand, "I was repairing the Bridge on Night Three as you can see in the writeup, so I couldn't have been sticking C4 in Navigation that night", does work, as far as I know. Got it?

I'm out of steam, but please discuss.

 

[Askthepizzaguy]

Yarrr, I would recommend that we do more than just vote to toss someone in the brig randomly.

In my recent experiences, the innocent team does much better if they follow the following procedure:

1. The first half of the day: Nomination phase. Add names that we think should walk the plank. (Possibly useful when analyzing vote patterns)

2. The second half of the day: Discussion and wagon. Pick from the names who have been nominated, and decide as a team who should die, and place the necessary number of votes on such a person. Keep the vote total low enough to reverse if necessary, and keep the other nominees in contention (roughly 3-4 votes from the lead). Pay attention to who argues for the death of whom. (Useful analysis)

3. Just before the deadline: Decision made, lock it in, add a couple more votes to the lead candidate to prevent last-minute switches. (Do not count this stage when analyzing vote patterns)



If we follow such a system, our choices will be more intelligent and focused, because the nominees will feel pressure for the first half and we will discuss why they should or should not sleep with the fishes in the second. We can also avoid bad lynches because verifiable, useful people can be spared for a couple rounds while they verify their tale. You might also do better later on when looking at the votes to determine suspicion.

Random, reasonless, directionless voting will likely get us nowhere but sent straight to Davey Jones' Locker. YARRR.....

 

[BSmith1068]

I agree that Frozen in Ice seems a little too quick to condemn the less active members of this ship. It is quite early yet and I feel it is too soon to start to make sense of this type of activity.

Diamondeye can have the crate, as he is willing to investigate and see if it is a trap. This way, we don’t lose our captain (again) if it is a trap.

As for the drugs, Seon seems to be the most useful recipient for them, but I am quite open to dissuasion.

 

[Renata]

Well we can't have Frozen getting all the love, can we? Tell Renata something about yourself, landlubber.

 

[TheForestAuro]

"Furthermore, I think we can second-guess the motivation of these saboteurs. The Impending Retribution carries a heavy arsenal of weapons, up to and including a nuclear payload, and letting this fall into the hands of these rogue agents would be tantamount to prevent. I believe that keeping these weapons off rogue hands at any cost could be the motivation behind the sabotage.

At least, that is what I hope they are thinking... There may be more sinister reasons, but those I cannot imagine."

"I still think that this idea holds merit. We may be looking at a group of loyalists trying to prevent the nuclear payload from falling into terrorist hands. It seems more likely than any other options that I can think of. Anarchists? I also agree with Renata that their ability to kill seems limited if it even exists at all. Notice that whitetower's killer struck again AND the ship took damage last night, but nobody managed to go up in a fireball?"

"As for the crate, I will defer any decisions on that to the captain." (Methos)

 

[Takhisis]

The Commander has showed up again, somehow conjuring up a glass of amber liquid in his hand on the time he was away. "I... Don't know about that crate. I'd be willing to examine it, if need be. I don't think the saboteurs would use tricks like this - which might be voted to themselves and as such be rendered unusable, when they are trodding around at night with access to most of the ship."

All they have to do is set the trap and not step forward to claim it.

He takes a sip of liquor before continuing. "On that note; If we trust the Captain's source concerning the demolition charges, a drop of explosions would actually indicate that one of the saboteurs were imprisoned the night before, and not on the night of the inactivity. It'd also give us a good way of making sure the crate is not a trap if we leave it alone. But I think any supplies that Command might have sent would be useful to get our hands on as soon as possible, and I'm pretty convinced it's not a booby trap. So I'd still like to take a look at it."

One of the saboteurs was imprisonde the night before? Pah. What about the damage to the sleeping quarters and the bridge?

Two shots to the chest and a single shot to the head... The murderer is a marine using a semi-automatic pistol.

With a SILENCER!!! How's it possible that no one heard anything at all?

<snip>Point the third. Having asked around (that is, read the OP carefully) and talked about it some, it seems the enemies we are facing are something like the following:
-- a group of rogues who are out to take over the ship. (Victory condition likely: kill 'em all. Likely responsible for Whitower and Love's deaths. Means of killing thus far, handgun.)
-- a group of saboteurs who may be out to destroy the ship entirely. (Victory condition likely: destroy the ship. Likely responsible for the major compartment damage, may or may not be responsible for the voltage spike that took out a number of key systems. Ability to kill people is quite possibly, though not certainly, limited.)

<snip>

I'm out of steam, but please discuss.

Someone's fixed the helicopter without my help or permission. Maybe there's people out there trying to escape in it after they scuttle the ship with us on it?

 

[BSmith1068]

Well we can't have Frozen getting all the love, can we?

I think ATPG brings up some good points about early voting. Here is the tally for the Lynch so far (please correct me if I missed anything!):

Seon - 3(?): (Methos(?), civplayah, Earthling)
Frozen in Ice – 3: (ccrunner, takhisis, Bsmith)
Landlubber – 2: (ATPG, Renata)
Niklas – 1: (Frozen in Ice)
Romanichine – 1: (TheForestAuro)
Izipo – 1: (Autolycus)
Civplayah – 1: (Zack)

I’m not sure if the comment by Methos was a vote for Seon or not, but it was bolded)

 

[Romanichine]

"I trust Seon's judgement on where his medicine shall go - He knows what his concoctions can do and I feel as if he would be the best to re-acquire his property. I also think those arrayed against him seek to distract from our true enemies aboard this ship. Romanichine, you seem quick to cast disfavor on our psychologist."

You are misinterpreting my actions sir, I was raising a fair question about Petty Officer Seon talking about drugs and finding some on the following night. If my "casting disfavor on" you mean "accusing", I plead innocent, but if you mean "aggressive questioning" then I am guilty. Questioning and accusing are two different things. The question about drugs had to be brought up, are you telling me that I shouldn't have?

For the record, I am satisfied with the public, and private answers, that I received on this matter, and I don't believe our psychiatrist should be suspected at this point.

 

[Romanichine]

You know I wouldn't mind seeing Seon get his drug back but also spend a night in the brig, it might do some to ease our concerns to put Seon there.

So you want to want to imprison our psychiatrist, but at the same time give him the drugs? Isn't this a blatant contradiction?

If you think someone is suspicious, don't help him by giving him access to his tools. Are you thinking straight PO Earthling?

Mostly I'm not sure we've talked enough about what we all see as really important - for me, I think, it's the ship's operation first and foremost. A lot of us can do things to Stuff, but some are able to and intend to do things, to other People. Even if he meant no harm it appears this psychiatrist is strictly the latter and we wouldn't affect anything useful to the ship's operation by having him spend a night locked up; and if he did mean harm then we'd help prevent it and sort things out with the good doctor.

Do you really thing that a night in the Brig will clear anyone? There's certainly a lot of threats on the ship and one less will probably go unnoticed at this point. I'm curious to hear how you will decide if Seon meant harm if he's imprisoned, for I may not be a prophet but I predict more damage tomorrow, and one kill, if not more.

Your reasoning is odd, there's no way a night in the Brig will clear someone.