Habeas Corpus
Ever since he went off the deep end and tried to escape the Satsop Development Park during a lockdown by running a checkpoint with his truck, Doug, “Fake Doug” or Fauxglas has been chilling as a prisoner of X-Com for lack of a better place to stash him. At first he was in the sick bay while he recovered from injuries sustained, and was under constant guard by Captain Newton’s soldiers. When his recovery was complete, his accommodations were stepped up: He was moved to the Alien Containment Facility because the bunker doesn’t have a brig. All this time, Lillian Kjelstad has been trying to interview and interrogate him, convinced that he has some secret knowledge that will give her a hand up when it comes to dealing with Vladimir Gurov and the Red Hand. She recently opted to step up her game, and requested Doug be moved to Alien Base-02 where Marie has the sim equipment set up. She wants to use the sim for a form of enhanced interrogation and see if that yields any results.
Of course, the primary members of X-Com’s assault team and core leadership were not keen on letting Lillian’s plans come to fruition. They argued that Doug has spent far too long rat-holed away without his day in court, so they aim to rectify that. With the aid of Judge Harlan Ruger, they begin the process for an expedited trial, the first capital case to be formally tried in Elma since the invasion began. Ruger has been preparing for this day, however, but did not press the issue; he was led to believe by Lillian that Doug was still an investigatory focus. But now that is not the case, he has plenty of the prep-work done already, with legal counsel set up for both the defense and prosecution. AJ and Fayth serve an extra duty as sort of “officers of the court” by ferrying paperwork and information to both sides, being interviewed and the like. In the midst of all this, they are even approached by Vladimir Gurov (or one of his genetically identical representatives) who offers an alternative option to the trial: They could just deliver Doug to him, and he would see the issue resolved rather permanently. The unified response to that proposal is that Gurov can get bent.
AJ and Fayth are approached by both sides in the trial, hoping that they will espouse an interest in seeing Doug found either guilty or innocent. To their credit, the X-Com agents maintain their neutrality, and espouse an interest in seeing justice done. When it comes to the trial, they give their testimonies, they suffer through the defense attempting to assassinate their characters. They witness Judge Ruger grow weary with legal shenanigans.
When it comes to closing arguments and deliberation—as Doug requested a bench trial rather than a trial by jury—an unusual thing happens. Breaking the fourth wall, here, the players are asked, based on their personal feelings and what they feel would best benefit the story, how they would like to see the trial turn out. The general consensus is that they don’t necessarily want him executed and done away with, but that he should be made an example of in some way. Partly due to mitigating circumstances (Gurov tampering with his mind), they opt to imprison him in a secure setting: a “cell” atop the cooling towers. Where he can be undisturbed, keep an eye on things and continue to live. He can also get visits from Fayth, who he finally realized he would miss if he were sentenced to death, and that had probably the greatest impact to his general attitude. For all the conspiracies he believes to be in play, for all that has been done to cruelly bring him into this world, he still loves his sister, and did not want to say goodbye to her forever.
With Judge Ruger’s sentence levied upon him, Doug accepts it gratefully. He didn’t want to try and save the world in the first place. He just wanted to save his family. And he sees she’s in good hands now. He is more than content to retire to his confinement and begin his sentence.
