Chapter Text
Court Record
Evidence:
Attorney’s Badge - My beloved attorney's badge. Wearing it gets me raring to go.
GYAXA Report - A report concerning the international agreement reached on crimes committed in deep space.
- No crimes committed in space below the severity of murder and/or attempted murder are to be prosecuted until unanimous agreement is reached concerning jurisdiction and the application of law in future conferences.
- Any cases of murder and/or attempted murder committed in deep space are to be tried under American law, by the Prosecutor’s Office of California under the stewardship of Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.
Spark Brushel Report - An article by Spark Brushel detailing how space delivery companies are sending discontinued products to offworld settlements.
Supplies - The crew of the Tulpar went through four months’ worth of rations. No other food has been found yet.
Safety Foam - Used to seal up breaches in the Tulpar. Currently blocking access to the sleeping quarters and the emergency supplies.
Polle Statue - A motion-activated statue of the Pony Express’ mascot Polle. Anya’s bed is located right underneath it.
Code of Conduct - A series of strict regulations concerning life onboard the Tulpar.
- Do not indulge in over 5 hours of rest.
- HR complains about poor team synergy may result in collective punishment.
- Late deliveries will be docked from personal credits.
- Medical expenses will be docked from personal credits.
- Any evidence found of intimate employee relationships in contravention of basic work interactions and allocated social recreation hours will result in immediate termination of employment and recall of all prior pay.
Mouthwash - Several empty bottles of Dragonbreah Mouthwash were found littered around the Tulpar’s lounge. Pulled off store shelves after its company was taken to court.
Scanner - A small device found in Captain Curly’s arm. Last used at 5:57PM on the day the Tulpar lost contact.
Tulpar Layout - A floorplan of the Pony Express Long-Haul Freighter Tulpar.
Tulpar Guide - A promotional guide that lays out the various features of the Tulpar.
Congratulations on acquiring your new Class F Freighter! Features include:
- Cargo hold capable of carrying 250 tonnes of cargo!
- Expanded lounge/recreation room!
- Fully automatic autopilot system! Turn on/off for convenient use!
- State-of-the-art cockpit security!*
*Note: Only security locks for rooms considered essential (Medical Room, Cockpit, Engine Room, Captain’s Quarters) are included as standard. Additional security locks can be added for $50 per room.
Isopropyl - Empty bottle of pure alcohol for medical use only. Potentially deadly to ingest.
Mocktail - An empty mocktail glass found outside the Utility Room. Contains traces of a mixture of Mouthwash and Isopropyl that would likely knock its drinker out cold.
Termination Letter - Notice informing that the crew of the Tulpar are to be made redundant upon delivery of their cargo.
Instructions for Termination – Captain’s Eyes Only
Tulpar Captain
This letter is the official confirmation of the dismissal of the crew of the Tulpar Space Freighter Designation TX-5623. As Captain, it is your responsibility to convey this news and information to the members of your vessel.
!!!WARNING!!!
DO NOT DISCLOSE CLOSURE UNTIL < 48 HOURS REMAIN OF SHIPMENT DURATION
Please ensure you maintain crew morale after delivering news of employee contract termination.
Crew is still expected to complete the remainder of the haul to PONY EXPRESS standards – failure to do so will lead to fines and legal action. Please be reminded that the shipment contract is active until completion despite immediate termination of employee contract.
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have lived up to Pony Express’ high employee standards and will be… [Letter cuts off here due to burn damage]
Profiles:
Phoenix Wright (38) – A legendary defence attorney and my former boss at the Wright Anything Agency.
Maya Fey (31) - The master of the Kurain Channelling Technique, and Phoenix Wright’s assistant.
Athena Cykes (22) - The newest lawyer in the office with a background in psychology. Soon to be promoted to senior partner.
Miles Edgeworth (38) - The district's chief prosecutor and a childhood friend of Phoenix Wright. Leading the case against Grant Curly.
Grant Curly (31) - The captain of the Tulpar long-haul freighter, and an employee of Pony Express. Disfigured and left paralysed in an explosion. The defendant in this case.
Spark Brushel (43) - Freelance journalist. Can smell a scoop from miles away.
Daisuke Juarez (20) – Youthful and fresh-faced intern on the Tulpar. Currently bound to a wheelchair.
Swansea Harold (55) – Gruff engineer and mechanic for the Tulpar. Has two different coloured eyes. Seems pretty scary.
Ema Skye (30) – Chief forensic investigator for the local precinct, and lead detective on the case.
Jimmy Zier (31) – Grouchy co-pilot of the Tulpar. Arm is currently in a sling.
Anya Musume (27) – Shy and soft-spoken medical officer for the Tulpar.
Lisa Basil (??) – Press secretary and PR spokesperson for Pony Express. Definitely not a robot.
Klavier Gavin (28) - Mr. Rock Star Prosecutor himself, he was the leader and vocalist of the Gavinners.
-----
March 4th, 5:00PM
Tulpar Crew Quarters – Daisuke and Swansea’s Room
-----
After we left the cockpit, we circled back around and up the stairs, moving past the medical bay and into the crew quarters area. There were three doors that lay before us, two of which were thoroughly foamed up, lending them the air of unsealed tombs from ancient times eagerly waiting to unleash hidden curses on unlucky grave robbers.
Hopefully no mummified corpses are awaiting in either of them…
The one door left open to us was labelled “Swansea”, with an “and Daisuke!” awkwardly scribbled underneath with what looked like a marker pen.
“Ohh”, I realised, “the Tulpar is only built for four people, right? So that must mean Swansea got lugged with having the intern as his bunkmate.”
“Well, no time like the present!”, Athena grinned, “I say we have a little mosey on in. What do you say?”
“No objections here”, I smiled back, “would you mind unlocking this for us Ema?”
“Uh, yeah”, she chuckled, “leave it to me.”
Ema moved ahead of us, cracking her knuckles and rotating her neck around like a boxer ready to step into ring, firmly grabbing the door handle with both hands before...
...she gently slid open the door.
Oh.
“Pretty easy huh?”
“Um, okay…”, I sighed with some embarrassment before turning around to face Athena.
“Alright, let's... hmm?”
*Music Plays* - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3H2zgtu9X0&t=491s
Her previously cheerful expression had turned deathly pale, while her body seemed unable to move as though it was rooted to the floor.
“N-no…
…surely the crew must have had…
…you can’t tell me that they’d let…”
This is weird… that’s the second time she’s gone off staring into space like that today.
Athena slowly turned her head to look away, her gaze fixing itself on the foamed-up door and its just-about visible nametag opposite us.
Hmm?
The room she’s looking at…
...that’s…
...Anya’s?
But-
*Music Stops*
And just as before, Athena managed to shake herself out of her strange little spell as quickly as she'd entered it, turning back round to face me with a scrunched-up expression of red-faced frustration.
“Argh…!”, she grimaced, “I’m… really letting the ship get me, huh?”
“Hey, it’s alright”, Ema smiled, “I mean I’m liable to trust your instincts when it comes to the uh, unsettling vibes of a certain place.”
“Yeah”, Athena frowned, “just… something in the air I guess...”
Ema and I waited for a minute to let Athena compose herself again, before she turned back around to charge straight in.
“Okay! No more distractions! Let’s do some good old-fashioned investigating!”
The first thing we noticed inside was a dotted line made from chalk which split the room in two, clearly an impromptu method of the Tulpar’s engineer for establishing personal boundaries.
Daisuke’s half on the right was easily identified by the hammock held up by two metal hooks, alongside a catcher’s mitt, baseball, and a small stack of manga volumes gathering dust underneath.
Swansea’s side meanwhile, consisted of a small single bunk on an aluminium bedframe, with a crummy blue mattress and yellowed sheet covered in five months’ worth of grime. A small nightstand with a blue lamp was situated just next to it with, a sheet of paper underneath the bulb.
Alright… this should be interesting.
*Music Starts* - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6YckqUEVJo&t=1283s
Select ---> Examine
Examine ---> Manga
“Uh, these are… Shōnen, right?”
“Wow!”, Athena grinned, “never took you for a man of highbrow culture Apollo!”
Hey, I was young once!
Athena carefully took the stack of books in hand and began carefully looking over each volume as if it was a priceless tome.
“I must say, our friend Mr. Junaz is a reader of exquisite taste! Although… I’m not sure these would all be enough to sustain me for a year of floating around in deep space…”
Yeah, I’d probably go stir crazy on the 4th re-read of… what’s this… "RoboCop Maid Café"?!
“Ahh!”, Ema interrupted before peering eagerly over my shoulder, “I’ve heard great things about this! They’re working on a series of it as well!”
“No way, for real?!”
While Athena and Ema excitedly chatted away, I noticed something poking out of the pages of one of the volumes.
“Hmm, looks like some kind of bookmark.”
I gently pulled out what seemed to be a strip of paper with two drawings on them.
Oh hang on…
[Author's Note: Concept art of Anya and Swansea, courtesy of Wrong Organ]
“Hey!”, Athena realised, “that’s Anya and Swansea!”
“Yeah”, I nodded, “not bad likenesses actually. Although I don’t remember Swansea being this… portly. Or wearing one of those blue Pony Express uniforms.”
“That’s not the only thing that’s different.”, Athena realised, “look at his face!”
I bought the drawing up closer so I could see what had caught her attention.
Hang on…
Swansea’s eyes…
In this drawing they’re…
…the same colour?
-----
*Daisuke’s Drawing added to the Court Record*
Daisuke’s drawing of Anya and Swansea. Swansea’s eyes seem to be the same colour.
-----
Examine ---> Swansea’s Nightstand
“Well,” Athena observed, “doesn’t seem like there’s much here that sheds light on Swansea’s personal life.”
“I expect that’s deliberate. Seems like the kind of guy who keeps his cards close to his chest.”
And there’s always the possibility that if you’re working in deep space, its because you’re trying to run away from something back on Earth.
Athena picked up the sheet of paper underneath the nightstand’s lamp.
“Looks like a maintenance report from… a week before the crash. Seems like there was something wrong with a vent in the utility room.”
Is that right?
I moved closer to get a better look, with Athena giggling at the title of the document.
THEY CAN’T EXPECT ME TO PERFORM MIRACLES!
“Wow, it’s almost as if he’s in the room with us”, I smirked.
I’ll try and give this document a good look over when I’ve got the time.
-----
*Maintenance Report added to the Court Record*
A maintenance report from Swansea about the broken vent in Utility, written a week before the crash.
THEY CAN’T EXPECT ME TO PERFORM MIRACLES!
Forwarding this to all fellow deadbeats on the pleasure cruiser Tulpar.
Following my subordinate’s little incident with the safety foam earlier, I can very much confirm that the utility vent is still, surprise surprise, pretty much busted, inside and out.
Now I hope I don’t have to repeat myself after this so, one more time with feeling:
DO NOT GO INSIDE THE UTILITY VENT!
Even the slightest movement inside will risk having the whole thing fall in on itself, and I’m not getting my pay cut because you knuckleheads think that getting electrocuted by exposed wires makes for a good time!
Speaking of wires, I think I’ve found the cause of our little electronic lock problem that we've been dealing with the past few weeks or so. As you already know, from 1 – 2PM each day the cockpit’s card reader is open to anyone, and the cargo hold won’t keep a log of anyone who comes in or out. Seems that it's all due to the circuitry in the vent, so, as the only one properly qualified on this godforsaken little rock we all call home, I’m going to see if I can’t find a workaround to solve it.
Anyway for the time being watch yourselves. If you’re not supposed to go somewhere or be someplace, don’t even think about going in there.
Otherwise, it’s a knuckle sandwich.
Swansea style.
-----
*Music Stops*
“Well, that was an interesting diversion”, Ema sighed, “hope you two enjoyed that.”
“Eh”, Athena replied, “I mean not every area of interest is going to have a whole smorgasbord of clues for us to find.”
I looked down at the Tulpar’s map to see which rooms were left for us to check out.
“I mean if Swansea’s maintenance report said that the vent in utility was out of commission… sounds like checking utility is our next and best course of action.”
“Is that so?”
I turned to see Ema looking forlornly down at the ground, a look of doubt crossing her eyes.
“Uh… everything good there?”
*Music Starts* - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3H2zgtu9X0&t=278s
“Y-yeah its fine, it’s not the utility room I’m worried about actually…
…it’s the room after.”
After…
...so the medical bay?
“I mean if you want, we can always get that one out the way first?”, Athena asked.
“No, its fine, it probably does actually make more sense for you to check out utility first. It’s just…
…urgh, you'll find out soon enough.”
Well, I suppose we cross that bridge when we come to it.
“Let’s get moving then…”
*Music Stops*