[007 - Audio | Locked to Crew and Torn, 50% Unhackable]

[navidtrifecta]

What the...

Fatality on deck seven. Male passenger, early-thirties, light brown hair, medium build.

His death was not the result of those damned creatures. There's a knife sticking out of his back with a note tied to the hilt. Note is written unknown language.

How do you wish to proceed?

...

I thought the upper decks were supposed to be safe?

Comments

[locked to same // unhackable]

[electroniccrane]

Deck 07?

What does the blood pool look like? Did he die there or was he moved?

[locked to same + Major // 50%]

[navidtrifecta]

Looks like he fell here...doesn't make sense unless some sort of magic shit was involved, or the decks aren't as safe as we've been led to believe.

[locked // unhackable]

[electroniccrane]

Retrieve his userid from his comm, please.

[locked // 50% unhackable]

[navidtrifecta]

[Here Major, Navid's sent the ID along.]

Recognize it?

[locked // unhackable]

[electroniccrane]

Russell Ashford.

He talks to Ace a lot.

[locked // 50% unhackable]

[navidtrifecta]

Huh. Only heard the names in passing.

This make any sense to you ah...[He searches for a name...dammit.]

Name's Navid by the way. My apologies, I should have introduced myself sooner.

[locked // unhackable]

[electroniccrane]

Major Kusanagi.

Ashford was complaining about cabin fever earlier. Guess he didn't wait for an escort.

It doesn't explain how his corpse ended up on a "safe" deck, though.

[locked // unhackable]

[navidtrifecta]

Nice to meet you, Major.

Hate to use magic as an excuse to explain everything but it seems unlikely that the man would manage to make it up through this mess only to be taken out on the safe side of the barricades.

[locked // unhackable]

[electroniccrane]

There've been no other incidents above Deck 08, and the screaming zombies would be hard to overlook. There's a fact we're missing, whether it's magic or not, and we need to find it before this will make sense.

Does he have any defensive wounds?

[locked // 50% unhackable]

[navidtrifecta]

[Navid looked over the body, frowned.]

None that I can see. Someone caught him in the back. Knife was probably thrown. Doubt he even saw it coming.

[locked // unhackable]

[electroniccrane]

[Pause as the Major thinks things through.]

Probably our sniper. The knife's the only unusual thing about the method, and that's easily enough explained by it being hard to tie a note to a bullet.

Tch. Ace would probably know if Ashford had some kind of magical ability that would explain this.

[locked to the investigators + Ace // unhackable]

Ace, need to talk to you.

[electroniccrane]

[locked to the above // unhackable]

It never is.

Russ is dead. Knife in the back. On Deck 07. Know anything about that?

[Very compassionately done, Major. You should consider a career in grief counseling.]

[locked // unhackable]

[electroniccrane]

Ace, all I'm concerned about is whether the hostiles have gotten above Deck 08. Other than that, I'm not asking you to tell me anything.