You can never say that I didn't try

[notglitching]

Who: Rinzler and OPEN
When: April 14th through the 24th
Where: the Hold
What: Rinzler killed some people and copes poorly. Set after this log.
Warnings: references to character death and mindscrew, glowy injuries, unfortunate assumptions. (See also: Rinzler.)


The first place Rinzler woke up in this system was a cell. He'd been locked in after a fight with his duplicate—with Tron. Not that the enforcer had been capable then of even hearing the older version's name. Rinzler had attacked because he had to, because the overrides built in his mind detected conflict and demanded he delete the source. Since then, he's shattered that if/then chain. Chipped away at the filters on his memories, even managed, once or twice, to speak.

But he's back where he started, and he knows better than to expect things to end the same way.

For the most part, visitors will find Rinzler seated on the low bench back against the wall. Circuits burn dimly in the shadows, almost outshone by the dull glint of fractured code that covers a full half of the enforcer's core. He's turned slightly to conceal the injured side, but the spiderwebbing cracks through code and armor are obvious to see, and he doesn't have the power to refresh his shell and cover up the damage.

The low rattle of corrupted code echoes through the cell and down the corridor, though it does nothing to compete with the invectives from the user locked in one door down. Rinzler approaches shutdown just once, curled up against the wall, and if the flickering lights and twitch of limbs is any sign, it's anything but restful. The program won't notice anyone approaching then, but he probably wouldn't mind being woken.

Once or twice, Rinzler rises, pacing, frustration and the need to move boiling up through the despair. There's nowhere to go, though, nothing to do, and even that much risks opening his damage further. Maybe he should. Fracture, break, rip himself apart and leave them voxels on the floor to claim and punish. Rinzler wonders if he ever tried before. If he does, he can't remember. He wonders what they'll make him into. Alan-one had told him what would happen, told him he'd correct the fault if Rinzler fought again. Now two users are dead, and if there's any hope at all, it's that they'll decide he's too worthless to salvage.


[[ooc: the duration during which Rinzler can be visited depends largely on the results of his trial, so there may be some time-wobbling. In particular, if he ends up with solitary confinement... no longer applicable; Rinzler will be visitable for both the trial period and his sentence. ETA 2: As of the 20th, temperature conditions will be improved thanks to Vision + co.

Prose and spam both welcome!]]

Comments

[notglitching]

Another faint dip of the mask: confirmation. Clu isn't here, and if his admin's absence isn't quite so great a hardship as this user might assume, Rinzler doesn't feel any need to share those details. There's a belated twitch to track the motion as she settles just outside, and a longer stare at the inquiry that follows. Why is she asking? The sequence hadn't mattered during the judgement for his crime; Rinzler can't imagine it would make the slightest difference now.

User attacked.
Derezzed it.

[squadgoals]

"I know he attacked you. Why? I didn't meet him, but people don't usually throw themselves on others without a reason."

Sitting down properly, she crosses her legs, hands on her knees, and leans forward slightly. Of all the write-ups in the trial, this, as far as she was concerned, was the main event.

"What made him feel like he had to attack you?"

[notglitching]

Rinzler can't quite work up the energy for real anger, but he still bristles visibly, mask tipping up to glare. This user isn't stupid enough to expect him to know the other's feelings. No, this question is about what Rinzler did. How he 'made' it attack.

Glitched.

Not his fault. The glare shifts to the other side of his cell as he types out the rest.

Discovered user (ID: Cannae_Spearfall) taking personal possessions.
Confronted user.
User attacked.

That's all. It was malware, and it was stupid, and even if he didn't have the right, he's still glad that it's gone.

[squadgoals]

"He was in the middle of stealing your belongings," she says the words one by one, frowning as they come out, "and attacked you when he was caught red-handed."

Her arms cross, almost reflexively, in ire. At the trial, only details about the original murder had been vague, with almost everything else explained via comprehensive videos. This had been her one sticking point. "Rinzler, that's a pretty normal reason to attack someone back. Maybe not to kill them, but... have you told this to anyone else?"

To say it changed the spin of things was putting it mildly.

[notglitching]

The enforcer's shoulders twitch slightly before the helmet dips in a nod. He'd told the beta. It was the only one that asked. As far as Rinzler was concerned, the reasons didn't matter.

Whatever this one counted normal, he'd still killed a user. Still gone against his user's will.

[squadgoals]

"Okay. So you told someone, just not the judge, jury, and executioners. Why not give all the details you just told me to the trial?" Did he think they didn't matter? Surely Rinzler, eccentricities and all, understood where your standard organic's moral code lay.

"Did you want to be accused?"

[notglitching]

There's another slightly lopsided shrug, hunch settling in a little closer. He doesn't bother looking up.

Don't care.

The users don't. He doesn't. His reasons matter as little to them as their trial system does to him. The punishment that matters isn't going to be affected by any vote. He knows what's coming. What was going to happen the moment he harmed another of their kind.

The ticking rattle rises audibly, but Rinzler doesn't bother to add more.

[squadgoals]

"You don't care?"

It was a little irritating to hear, and more irritating not to know the source of it. If Rinzler never cared about the outcome, despite his status as, quite literally, the defendant, what did he care about, here. There was something, but she wasn't sure she'd get it out of Rinzler. Still, it was worth asking.

"Why not?"

[notglitching]

Doesn't matter.

A brief pause, sound ticking out into the silence before he adds another line.

Users don't care either.

[squadgoals]

"If I said I cared, would you believe me?" But she's shaking her head as soon as she says it. "I guess actions speak louder than words, though. But it does matter to me, and I'll bear it in mind."

Letting a silence fall for a moment, she muses on the situation. What a mess. If the ship's communication and crew continued like this, it wouldn't get much better, but who was she to say anything for the moment? Others had been here for months, and had no issue.

"There's a lot of different people on board, here. I think one of our biggest weaknesses as a crew is not really knowing each other yet. There's a uniting cause, but..." Shepard trails off, frowning. Rinzler didn't need to hear her internal monologue, and she sincerely doubted he cared— at least, at the moment. "Anyway, I care. For what it's worth."