Cheryn Childress

Ternan Childress' younger sister, the 52 year old Cheryn is a firm believer in the value of "old money", and sees the Soongs as servants Out of their place. Although she dislikes the idea of turning the station upside down and killing people, she is also quick to mention that the Soongs fired the first shot.

Soong Ong-Taek

Sixty-year-old Ong-Taek lost his famity's meager fortune when he fled Earth, and has been, as he sees it, humbly struggling to earn it back over the years, held back only by the arrogance of the Childress family. His son Pok has angered him by opening fire on the Childresses and starting the war, but he has persuaded himself that the Childress' murder of Myoung is an offense that, unlike others over the years, cannot be forgiven.

David Childress

Cheryn's nephew has appointed himself general of his family's efforts to destroy the Soongs. His strategy sounds less like self-defense and more like extermination, however. It is also a welt-known fact that he lusted after Soong Myoung, and crudely insulted her after she "betrayed" David by marrying his uncle. The Soongs have accused him of murdering Myoung after she rejected him again.

Soong Pok

Aged twenty-five, Pok always hated his sister for being better at everything. Then she went and married a Childress, and died for it. Pok is less interested in avenging his sister than in restoring his family's fortune and lording it over the Childresses who have treated him like dirt for so long. The Childresses believe Pok killed his own sister to arouse his family's anger toward them.

Spiegel Cross-Childress

Appointed magistrate of Childress' Freehold by his predecessor Soong Alvin, Spiegel had the unenviable task of trying to produce a seemingly impartial ruling on MYOUng's death in the face of likely Murder attempts by both families. Spiegel is not inside the Childress family COMPOUnd, choosing instead to hide out with the neUtrals in the hope that someone will come to their senses and be in need of his legal wisdom.

Kharnal Theon

Fifty-year-old Captain of the SS Storiji, Khamal made a lot of friends as a Martian Free Republic businessman before investing his fortune and beginning his long-desired career as a dashing merchant captain. His rates are low, given the high quality of his service and accommodations, because he's already made his profits; Khamal is only in this business to meet new and interesting people. He's a kind soul, but this war is nothing like the business deals he's used to.

Judge's Bench

Q: So, whodunit?
A: Anyone.

The real culprit is up to the GM, since most main NPCs have both motive and opportunity. Doing things this way also prevents nosy players from knowing the truth by reading this article... Both families have perfectly adequate motives, since they both want increased control of the station and the unexpected wealth it is generating.

The Soongs can get rid of a disobedient child and gain an excuse to wipe out the Childresses (assuming they haven't faked Myoung's death), while the Childresses can get the Soongs to attack them and still have a plausible alibi. A third option is that Myoung actually did commit suicide, for any number of her own or her families' motives.

The poor sod in the docking bay was probably the victim of a stray shot or two, although it could just as easily have been another cold-blooded murder by Myoung's killer. Other possibilities exist, and may become the "truth" at the discretion of the GM. One gaming alternative of note modifies the adventure to better suit combat-loving characters. The GM simply needs to alter the personalities o one of the clans so that they are the unquestioned "bad guys". Then, have the bad guys kill off all but one or two of the opposing clan, and drop the players in for a no-questionsasked gunfight.

Captive Jury Jovian Chronicles Murder Mystery Adventure

Introduction
The Crime
The Trial
Data Files and Judge's Bench