Part 50: The Tribunal
Chapter 50: The Tribunal
We were too late.
KORTENAER: SHUT UP!!! Youre not gonna talk yourself out of this, loincloth-sh*t f*ck!
ELIZABETH: This is a misunderstanding. Nothing irreversible has happened yet. You can just return to your unit and forget all about this.
ELIZABETH: Youre all drunk, come to your senses! She sounds very sure of herself. You wont gun down seven people in the middle of the street. This isnt a frontier town or a jungle outpost.
TITUS HARDIE: Easy, Lizzie
His voice is almost gentle. Let me handle it. I know guys like this. Im sure we can come to a peaceful agreement. Aint that right, fellas?
AUTHORITY: [Medium: Success] He is facing overwhelmingly superior firepowerand he knows it.
REACTION SPEED: [Medium: Success] *You warned them*, whispers a tiny, arrogant voice in the back of your skull. You warned them about exactly this.
VOLITION: [Challenging: Success] This is no time for gloating. Lives are at stake.
PERCEPTION (HEARING): nest in you abdominal cavity, like a little wild mouse The masked mans words are barely intelligible, but you can hear them.
HALF LIGHT: [Easy: Success] The f*ck are you even looking at here? Is this what Death looks like? That masked face is scaring the piss out of you. Dont look too deeply into his eyes or it might cost you your eternal soul.
HAND/EYE COORDINATION: This third onehe is the most dangerous of them all. Heavily armed.
KIM KITSURAGI: He nods. If this turns into a firefight, we should take him out first.
EMPATHY: [Medium: Success] I think he calmed down a bit
ARIST: [Challenging: Success] It suddenly occurs to you that you dont even have three *bullets*. What are you going to do when this turns ugly?
HALF LIGHT: [Easy: Success] Youre going to be in the thick of it.
ESPRIT DE CORPS: [Formidable: Success] As you should be. Thats your job.
KORTENAER: Oh yeah, welcome to the f*cking party. He looks around. Youre probably gonna get killed too, I dont give a sh*t if youre cops.
ELIZABETH: No one is going to kill anyone. Lets just put the guns down and talk like civilized human beings.
RUUD HOENKLOEWEN: With a wordless gurgle, the killer loads his long rifle
KORTENAER: The leader gives a small nod to the helmeted man. Suddenly the grip of your side-arm feels comforting and warm in your hand. Feels like its saying: Do it!
HAND/EYE COORDINATION: [Medium: Success] Shoot him in the mouth. Shoot him before he shoots you.
RHETORIC: [Medium: Success] No, wait! Its good you have that gun. It really is. Just soften him up first. Present an argument!
SUGGESTION: [Medium: Success] Even if it comes to a fight its *always* a good idea to drag it out first. Get under his skin.
COMPOSURE: [Medium: Success] I dont know about this getting under his skin. What if he gets under *yours*? Im barely keeping your hand from trembling here
DE PAULE: Ruud? Ruud is the killer The armoured woman smiles a vicious smile. Ruud The Killer Hoenkloewenhe doesnt talk much.
KORTENAER: The gunner. He gestures toward himself. The radist. He nods towards the woman. The killer. He points to the figure clad entirely in ceramic plate. What do you think he *does*?
PERCEPTION (SIGHT): About *fifty* little stick figuresall of them black. Plus two little white ones in the end.
ENCYCLOPEDIA: [Medium: Success] These men served in sem*nine
the native islanders
KORTENAER: Thats right. He stares at you with watery eyes. Plenty of kipts here in Revachol too.
EUGENE: T, lets f*cking *do* it, the man presses through his teethhis hand is on his belt.
TITUS HARDIE: Gene
KORTENAER: How f*cking *convenient* He gives you a drunken starethen puts his hand on the gun.
KORTENAER: You think Im f*cking *stupid*, cop? Theres a dangerous gleam in his eye. What if I just shot one of your pals right now, huh? He points his gun at Elizabeth. How about the kipt? Tell me it was a magic f*cking sniper one more time
KORTENAER: Youre *lying*. De Paule heard it. He doesnt move the weapon.
HAND/EYE COORDINATION: A Kiejl Model 40 revolver. Eight rounds in the barrel. The gun slowly sways in his handfrom the inebriation.
PERCEPTION (HEARING): [Easy: Success] The shot rings in your earsa low tinny ring. Then the Hardie boys yell something
ELIZABETH: The young woman stands and looks behind her. The shot has flown over her headcrashing a small pane of the glass window behind her.
KORTENAER: The man looks at his revolver and smiles: I missed.
DE PAULE: I know what I heard, Korty! The radio operator looks at him. They said they killed him. They said it was a good way to end a Sunday night.
KORTENAER: Nah
He wipes the sweat from his brow. Im clear as day. f*cking government ordained super-soldier
DE PAULE: Enough already! What is this?! The womans voice is furious. We didnt come here to f*cking chat!
KORTENAER: You think I care what that company c*nt thinks? He laughs. Its a hollow laughter.
KORTENAER: The man stares at you with bloodshot eyes, a bull ready to chargehes not listening, but looking for an opening
KORTENAER: Shes f*cking GONE! The shout echoes back from the Whirling windows. She f*cking sailed off! Youre *alone*.
TITUS HARDIE: Stay cool, dont do anything stupid, Titus shouts to his men in the background.
KORTENAER: The company bitch is gone. Lelys gone. f*ck are we still doing in this sh*thole? He looks around, tired suddenlysad even.
SHANKY: Guys, I, uh
The little guy breaks formation. Id just get in the way. I dont even have a gun.
ARIST: [Legendary: Success] Oh, this is some weak sh*t, Dennis! I should have expected some horsepiss like this from you!
EMPATHY: [Formidable: Success] No. Youre just as scared as he is. At least theres one less person in the line of fire now.
KORTENAER: Who the f*ck is that?
KIM KITSURAGI: Klaasjethe woman upstairs? Where is she?
GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: She LEFT! Her rooms cleaned outright before these assholes showed up!
ARIST: [Medium: Success] Oh, *f*ck*! Well, that act of mercy bit us in the ass something fierce!
LOGIC: [Medium: Success] You know, in hindsight
DRAMA: [Challenging: Success] I told you not to trust her, sire.
KIM KITSURAGI: We should have arrested her
The lieutenant whispers, his eyes still on the armed mercenaries.
EMPATHY: [Medium: Success] You can *feel* how upset he is with himself. Just for a second. Then the fear takes over and hes back in the moment.
KORTENAER: What always happens when you get good at your job. That name meant night raids, f*cking extra-judicial funkytime burned villages. sh*t that sounds bad on the radio. The same thing happened when we were called whatever-the-f*ck it was. Probably wont be called *Krenel* for much longer either He looks around. Not after this sh*t.
KORTENAER: Sergeant Major Raul Kortenaerreporting in to burn this f*cking mud hut to the ground! He points at the Whirling-in-Rags
PERCEPTION (HEARING): [Medium: Success] As he moves, the interlocking pieces of his armour click, softly.
LOGIC: [Easy: Success]
click, click, click! The realization comes to you, like a picture puzzle coming together: His name is Raul Kortenaerthe dead mans name is Ellis Kortenaer. Hes *brothers* with the deceased!
LOGIC: [Medium: Success] Noprobably foster brothers! Ellis was put into a foster home, remember
KORTENAER: Same f*cking mudhut town too he looks around, then wipes his face with his armoured glove.
KIM KITSURAGI: We researched him. We contacted the ICP and looked at his birth records. That was in there. And other things
KORTENAER: They f*cking put Lely in a lead compactor and now these c*nts finished the job
He waves at the gang huddled by the doors.
DE PAULE: Its a mind-f*ck, Korty. He wasnt put in a leaf compactor. Theyre making it up to f*ck with us. She glances at him. Major, permission to
KORTENAER: f*ck do you mean *talker*?
KIM KITSURAGI: Weve heard testimony. People say he was charismatic. A nice guy to be around.
KORTENAER: Yeah, he liked to chat up the natives. Share leaflets, squeeze a bit of kipt ass here and there. Great f*cking idea that turned out to be
He points toward the yard. If Lely was here, he would spare the lot of you. Maybe shoot one for show. But me
he points to himself. Im not a big fan of public affairs, clay-monkey. Ill gun every one of you down for what you did.
DE PAULE: Ready to open fire, major. At your command.
KORTENAER: He smiles, pulling his face in a strange way. Baby blue, yeah Like someone f*cked up and put a babys eyes on a grown man.
KORTENAER: Find his killer?! Cop, his killer stands right there! He waves at the men behind you. sh*tting his pantsand *youre* standing in the way protecting them. I know what this tactic is, Silo Sam. He stares at you, eyes pink from the alcoholfingers tapping the pistol. Youre gonna die for them. Right here. Today.
AUTHORITY: [Medium: Success] Dont panic. Youve gotten to him. Youve bought time. Just dont panic, and dont let him know youre panicking.
One try. Make it count.
REACTION SPEED: [Medium: Success] Time almost feels as if its standing still as you rapidly take in the crucial stimuli of the next several seconds
BEAUTIFUL NECKTIE: In the fiery inferno you see your tiecoiling around the mans neck. It is no longer horrific, but beautiful and *pure*.
BEAUTIFUL NECKTIE: One day a sad man walked into a clothing store. He looked really down. Like he hadnt had fun in years. He needed someone to show him how to rock and roll again.
BEAUTIFUL NECKTIE: And from that moment onwe rode together. The rest of your clothes were still *normal* back then. But we took care of that soon enough.
BEAUTIFUL NECKTIE: Truthfully? Not a lot. I did everything a multi-patterned necktie can do to help a man. I mean, I tried to get you to do *all* the fun things:
KORTENAER: This guy? Wellhis face has *cracked open* into a scream of terror. It looks like hes performing some sort of a shamanistic dance
that requires you to be on fire?!
BEAUTIFUL NECKTIE: Yeah, his body contorts in a very disturbing mannertheres no mincing words with this one. Hes dying a horrible painful death as youre talking to your tie in your head.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT): [Medium: Success] In your peripheral vision you catch the third man moving. You turn towards him. Hes aiming his rifle right at you.
KIM KITSURAGI: From the corner of your eye you see the lieutenant raise his pistoland aim it at Ruud.
VISUAL CALCULUS: [Medium: Success] Hes trying to find a straight line of sight before the rifleman can take you out. In the background, the leader is still on fire
RUUD HOENKLOEWEN: You stare down the barrel of the gun. You see Ruuds mask behind ithis eye in the slit of the helmet. Like a camera lens focusing on you.
HAND/EYE COORDINATION: [Medium: Success] 0.4 seconds remain. There are six little black dots in the tip of the barrel, like a honeycomb. This is a *nock cannon*. It shoots six rounds in one pull of the trigger.
ENDURANCE: Is there anything*anything* we could use to protect this frail body? That gun will tear us to pieces.
PAIN THRESHOLD: [Easy: Success] Ow.
REACTION SPEED: A volcano of burning pain erupts from your left shoulder.
VISUAL CALCULUS: [Medium: Success] Hes aiming for the eye slot in Ruuds helmet. An extremely difficult shot
EMPATHY: [Formidable: Success] He has to. The rifleman will fire at you again.
INLAND EMPIRE: [Medium: Success] OH GOD! WATCH OUT!
REACTION SPEED: The Hardie boys are screaming, fighting, dying. Someone jumps over younearby gunfire shatters glass.
GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: STOP!!!
REACTION SPEED: its all gone. Open your eyes now. You have to see whats happening!
KIM KITSURAGI: Yes! Keep talking! The lieutenant pushes down on your wound, hard. Stay awake! Look at me! But you cant. Its so hard. Your eyelids grow heavy and the sounds ever more distant. And a cold comes over you. Kim, too, is somewhere far away. Almost gone when suddenly! You sense something behind him
ARIST: [Challenging: Success] Know. Please, just know.
ESPRIT DE CORPS: [Formidable: Success] He will. Youve shared too much for him not to.
