Mystery on the Excelsior - Chapter Five

[Bob]

Mystery on the Excelsior

Chapter Four - We're Almost There!

As the Excelsior zoomed through space, it was still being shadowed by a mysterious vessel several million kilometers behind it. Meanwhile, there still was no way for the ship to get a message out to the Space Police or for Officer Jones to call for backup or a Space Ambulance.

Note, this will be the final chapter to investigate things. Chapter Six will be the final chapter in the mystery in which you'll be asked to answer questions to try to "win" the game. Feel free to take any dynamic actions you wish in addition to searching rooms. You're free to return to previous locations as well.

Players:

Crew:

Captain Amelia Bennett - Played by Shadows

Noah Baker, chef - Played by Kristel

Arthur Allan, steward - Played by Waterbrick Down

Gabriella Palmer, engineer - Played by Hinckley

Passengers:

George Dawson, businessman - Played by Lind Whisperer

Emily Dawson, lawyer - Played by jimmynick

Jack Mallory, author - Played by KotZ

Dr. Logan Frost, psychiatrist - Played by Fugazi

Charlotte Sawyer, regional politician - Played by Pandora

Sophie Young, lecturer - Played by Darkdragon

Charlie Seymour, zoologist - Played by Tariq j

Oliver Hudson, artist - Played by Trekkie99

Space Police:

Grace Jones, Space Police - Played by Lord Duvors 

NPCs:

Jason Falcon, helmsman

Pierce Foster, navigator

Alfie Peck, passenger (deceased)

Ezra Parry, passenger (incapacitated)

Rules

1) Every player has received a character with a backstory and information that may be exclusive to them knowing. You can feel free to roleplay the character and flesh them out more. Mystery games are often primarily role-playing games, don’t forget that. There is no such thing as a “fluff post” or anything to the like. Throw out any conceptions you have used in mafia games. Feel free to make the character yours beyond what I've given.

2) There is no voting of players in this game. Providing something extreme, all twelve characters will last until the end of the game, at which time they must attempt to “solve” the mystery. You win if you are able to correctly solve the mystery, or if you get close enough to do so. This will happen in the final chapter of the game. You’ll receive several questions and then you have to answer them and explain. If you get it right, you win. If not, well…

3) A chapter will last as long as necessary for the story with no given or set end time. This is, of course, different to mafia games where days last about 72 hours. Keep in mind that mystery games often run longer than mafia games. If you commit to signing up and playing, make sure you can participate for at least a few months.

4) There is no PMing in the game without my permission. For example, you can say “I wish to speak to this person privately” and I may give you approval to do so.

5) You must search for clues. The room that you enter will be described to you and will also usually have a photo to accompany the description. This means that clues typically won’t be out in the open for you to see. If you want to search a room or area for clues, you cannot type:

               “I want to look for suspicious or hidden objects in this room."

Rather, you must specify what you want to do. For example:    

               “I want to open the drawers of the cabinet.”

You can only submit one action at a time until I reply to it, but anyone can request a search of something at the same time as you. For example, if you ask for a search of a closet, you must wait until I reply to it to submit another action. However other players can request searches of other parts of the room.

6) Please don’t edit your posts. There’s no real penalty to it, but it might make you look more suspicious and I would appreciate not doing so. If you’re worried about a typo, double check your post.

7) Do not talk about the game outside of the threads!

8) This is still a game of deception. Players have things that they wish to hide. If you have any questions about your character, feel free to ask via PM!

9) Make sure any actions that you take are in italics and on a separate line so I can see them. If I miss it for some reason, just quote it and yell at me in another post.

10) When it’s time to end the chapter, you can decide where you’d like to go next in the form of a vote. Voting will last 24 hours strictly. The location with the most votes will win. You’ll be given a map/layout of the ship as well as some choices that you can explore. You can always return to a previous location if you wish.

11) I know we'll all be good rule-followers, but I'll ask everyone to adhere to these rules. Breaking them too frequently could see you removed from the game

Room Key:
1a: Jack Mallory
1b: Sophie Young
1c: Charlie Seymour
1d: Oliver Hudson
1e: Alfie Peck
1f: Logan Frost
1g: Ezra Parry
1h: vacant

2a: Charlotte Sawyer
2b: George and Emily Dawson

You have visited: The Lounge, the kitchen/storage, engineering, the bridge and the storage room. You've also searched rooms 1a - 1e and 1g as well as the library.

[Trekkie99]

"Right where to next Aye?"

I'd like to modify Grace's Bicorder into a Diecorder and shoot it out the window at that pesky ship following us

[Bob]

3 hours ago, Trekkie99 said:

"Right where to next Aye?"

I'd like to modify Grace's Bicorder into a Diecorder and shoot it out the window at that pesky ship following us

As an artist, Oliver is unable to modify a bicorder and he is persuaded to not open a window as that would cause a hull breach. Instead, he paints some very nice designs onto it. 
 

There’s still several spots you’ve not visited. If you’d like to revisit any spots from previous chapters, you can. 

[Waterbrick Down]

"So it would seem like a safe assumption that whoever is following us is still waiting for something to be delivered off of the ship. We know that Mr. Parry had launch codes for the escape pods, and unless he was trying to jettison himself on a nearby planet while moving at warp speed, it seems like a good guess that he was trying to get to our pursuer. Since we didn't find anything else unusual on Mr. Parry, he might have simply been trying to get out with knowledge he had recently acquired. As Mr. Peck was an inventor and probably had some important research documents on him. My current theory is that Mr. Parry broke in, stole the documents, copied or memorized the key findings, burned the evidence in the housekeeping compartment and then made his way to the storage to get his belongings before trying to head for the escape pods. While in storage he was inadvertently knocked out and lost his memory of the events."

Arthur pondered for a moment. "Do we have any way of knowing whether our communication signal is being blocked by an on-board device, or whether it's being jammed by the ship pursuing us?"

Arthur tries to recall if they had inspected all of Mr. Parry's luggage in the storage area.

[Tariq j]

“What rooms haven’t we visited? We’ve just finished searching Oliver’s room so I’m assuming it’s just Logan’s room (1f) next and then we’re done searching all the guests rooms. We haven’t searched any of the crews’ quarters have we? Maybe after we check 1f we should go there next. 

[Trekkie99]

"Sounds good mate." 

Vote to visit 1f

[Bob]

On 11/30/2020 at 11:21 AM, Waterbrick Down said:

Arthur tries to recall if they had inspected all of Mr. Parry's luggage in the storage area.

I believe so, yes.

[Duvors]

"Well, we might as well visit the last guest room on the lower deck."

Vote for 1f. Also, is Engineering Access a room that can be searched or just a passage? I can't seem to remember if that's been mentioned before or not.

[Waterbrick Down]

6 hours ago, Bob said:

I believe so, yes.

"So considering Mr. Parry didn't have anything else suspicious on his person, I think that further proves he was trying to get away with information."

Arthur prepares to accompany everyone to 1F.

[Duvors]

Remembering something, Grace will scan the porcelain fragments we've collected from Mallory's room with the bicorder.

[jimmynick]

On 11/30/2020 at 4:21 PM, Waterbrick Down said:

While in storage he was inadvertently knocked out and lost his memory of the events.

"If I recall, it was only a surmise that Ezra was knocked out by a suitcase, yes? So someone might have tried to do him in, that's a layer we should keep in mind."

On 12/1/2020 at 10:10 AM, Tariq j said:

“What rooms haven’t we visited? We’ve just finished searching Oliver’s room so I’m assuming it’s just Logan’s room (1f) next and then we’re done searching all the guests rooms. We haven’t searched any of the crews’ quarters have we? Maybe after we check 1f we should go there next. 

"Have we not searched my room yet? I want to go and see if Georgie dearest has anything he hasn't told me."

[Bob]

On 12/1/2020 at 7:00 PM, Lord Duvors said:

"Well, we might as well visit the last guest room on the lower deck."

Vote for 1f. Also, is Engineering Access a room that can be searched or just a passage? I can't seem to remember if that's been mentioned before or not.

The engineering access is a passage way. There's nothing to search there.

On 12/2/2020 at 12:11 AM, Waterbrick Down said:

"So considering Mr. Parry didn't have anything else suspicious on his person, I think that further proves he was trying to get away with information."

Arthur prepares to accompany everyone to 1F.

The team arrives at room 1f, occupied by Dr. Frost. It's very well organized and clean. It appears that Dr. Frost has been doing his own cleaning since the room service sort of ended with everything going on. It's a usual room.

On 12/2/2020 at 7:21 PM, Lord Duvors said:

Remembering something, Grace will scan the porcelain fragments we've collected from Mallory's room with the bicorder.

There's blood and hair on these fragments.

[Duvors]

3 hours ago, Bob said:

There's blood and hair on these fragments.

"Right, so this definitely came from whatever was used to hit Peck on the head. Probably a teacup or mug, 'cause it would be odd if there was a teapot in his room and nothing to drink from."

Grace will search the closet.

[Waterbrick Down]

7 hours ago, jimmynick said:

"If I recall, it was only a surmise that Ezra was knocked out by a suitcase, yes? So someone might have tried to do him in, that's a layer we should keep in mind."

"Considering he broke into the storage instead of contacting one of the crew his behavior is already suspicious. I'd find it hard to believe we have two independently malicious parties aboard."

4 hours ago, Bob said:

There's blood and hair on these fragments.

"Mr. Mallory, I still don't believe you answered my earlier question. Who else to your knowledge aside from the engineer has been in your room?"

[Tariq j]

15 hours ago, jimmynick said:

 

"Have we not searched my room yet? I want to go and see if Georgie dearest has anything he hasn't told me."

“Good point! We need to add rooms 2A and 2B to the search list”

“I’d like to search the desk for any clues”

[Duvors]

11 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Considering he broke into the storage instead of contacting one of the crew his behavior is already suspicious. I'd find it hard to believe we have two independently malicious parties aboard."

"As nice as it would be to think that, it makes it a teeny bit difficult to explain how Ezra was both shutting down that ship in engineering and getting knocked out in storage at the same time."

[Waterbrick Down]

10 hours ago, Lord Duvors said:

"As nice as it would be to think that, it makes it a teeny bit difficult to explain how Ezra was both shutting down that ship in engineering and getting knocked out in storage at the same time."

"I don't think he was. He broke in to the storage whenever the power was on as otherwise the door would have been unlocked. My current theory is that the power was turned off, Mr. Parry then entered Mr. Peck's room looking for documents, killed him, stashed the murder weapon in Mallory's room, and then hid on the 2nd floor while we all congregated in the lounge, burned the documents in housekeeping, before having to break into storage as the power would have been back on at that point."

Arthur inspects the trash.

[Duvors]

13 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"I don't think he was. He broke in to the storage whenever the power was on as otherwise the door would have been unlocked. My current theory is that the power was turned off, Mr. Parry then entered Mr. Peck's room looking for documents, killed him, stashed the murder weapon in Mallory's room, and then hid on the 2nd floor while we all congregated in the lounge, burned the documents in housekeeping, before having to break into storage as the power would have been back on at that point."

"While it is possible that the suitcase fell on his head after being dislodged earlier, the rest of that theory is impossible.  If you'll remember, the only point of access between the upper and lower decks is either in engineering or on the far side of the lounge from the cabins.  Considering everyone left their cabins and when to the lounge immediately after the power went out and came straight to the lounge, and engineering was occupied by Gabriella and the captain, there's no way the upper floor could be accessed unseen.  If Mr. Peck was killed before the blackout then it might be possible to use engineering or the lift to access the upper deck without being seen after shutting off the power, but that doesn't explain why the power was off in the first place.  Maybe to cover his escape?"

[Waterbrick Down]

1 hour ago, Lord Duvors said:

"While it is possible that the suitcase fell on his head after being dislodged earlier, the rest of that theory is impossible.  If you'll remember, the only point of access between the upper and lower decks is either in engineering or on the far side of the lounge from the cabins.  Considering everyone left their cabins and when to the lounge immediately after the power went out and came straight to the lounge, and engineering was occupied by Gabriella and the captain, there's no way the upper floor could be accessed unseen.  If Mr. Peck was killed before the blackout then it might be possible to use engineering or the lift to access the upper deck without being seen after shutting off the power, but that doesn't explain why the power was off in the first place.  Maybe to cover his escape?"

"I'm not sure if he'd been able to access the escape pods with the power off. Alternatively, he could have simply never went upstairs and simply went from Mr. Peck's room, to Mr. Mallory's, and then to storage. But that doesn't explain who burnt something in housekeeping. It should also be noted, that I don't think we've confirmed it was immediately after the power went off that people congregated."

Arthur tries to recall how long the power was off and if everyone was in the lounge when it came on, or afterwards.

[Bob]

On 12/4/2020 at 12:59 AM, Lord Duvors said:

"Right, so this definitely came from whatever was used to hit Peck on the head. Probably a teacup or mug, 'cause it would be odd if there was a teapot in his room and nothing to drink from."

Grace will search the closet.

The closet doesn't seem to have anything noteworthy inside of it. There's some unpacked suitcases.

On 12/4/2020 at 8:56 AM, Tariq j said:

“Good point! We need to add rooms 2A and 2B to the search list”

“I’d like to search the desk for any clues”

The desk has several confidential files for a few of Doctor Frost's patients.

On 12/4/2020 at 11:41 PM, Waterbrick Down said:

"I don't think he was. He broke in to the storage whenever the power was on as otherwise the door would have been unlocked. My current theory is that the power was turned off, Mr. Parry then entered Mr. Peck's room looking for documents, killed him, stashed the murder weapon in Mallory's room, and then hid on the 2nd floor while we all congregated in the lounge, burned the documents in housekeeping, before having to break into storage as the power would have been back on at that point."

Arthur inspects the trash.

The trash is empty.

19 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"I'm not sure if he'd been able to access the escape pods with the power off. Alternatively, he could have simply never went upstairs and simply went from Mr. Peck's room, to Mr. Mallory's, and then to storage. But that doesn't explain who burnt something in housekeeping. It should also be noted, that I don't think we've confirmed it was immediately after the power went off that people congregated."

Arthur tries to recall how long the power was off and if everyone was in the lounge when it came on, or afterwards.

The power was off for about ten to fifteen minutes. People came to the lounge mostly after power had been restored. 

[Hinckley]

I've been drinking alone for hours. Forgive me while I *hic* catch up.

[Trekkie99]

20 hours ago, Bob said:

The desk has several confidential files for a few of Doctor Frost's patients.

I'd like to read the files if possible

[Waterbrick Down]

@Fugazi "Doctor Frost, what time did you go to bed on the evening of the power shut down?"

[Bob]

10 hours ago, Trekkie99 said:

I'd like to read the files if possible

Are you sure you'd like to read confidential medical files about strangers? 

[Duvors]

Grace will search the bathroom.