(Mass ARG) Twelve Dead in a shootout at Von Braun Aerospace

Twelve Dead in a Shootout at Von Braun Aerospace

Global News One, GNO: September 23^rd, 2065

    It was a regular September morning in the Von Braun Aerospace Headquarters. CEO Joseph Charon, founder of the corporation, was about to unveil another of the company’s rigorous breakthrough in Interstellar travel that afternoon. However, tragedy struck at the heart of the renowned research division when former project manager Nicholas Vittore appeared one morning with an assault rifle and proceeded to kill several of his colleagues, including his ex-wife Trisha Clement. Nicholas then committed suicide shortly after police arrived.

The description of the event could only be described as ‘heart wrenching’ for the victim’s families, including that of Vittore’s. Even business colleagues who knew both the victims and Vittore were still shaken up and grief stricken by the incident. One of the survivors of the attack had this to say:

‘It didn’t make any sense. I have no idea what came over Nicholas when he came into the building shooting everyone. He went for his ex, first and then started to shoot at everyone else. Nicholas was a great man, and I’m not just saying that because that’s what the media wants to hear, it’s the truth. I’ve known him for years, we all did. He was a vital part to the Von Braun Aerospace Corps. Without him, we wouldn’t be where we are now. But I’m just so confused as to why he went and did what he did.’

Nicholas Vittore was an employee of the Von Braun Aerospace Corps for more than ten years. He was responsible for his revolutionary and controversial invention of the physics defying mass drive. Nicholas came under heavy fire from the scientific community when he presented claims about this invention. After extraneous cooperation and testing with NASA, the idea of the mass drive being capable of reducing the mass of an object to absolute zero, giving way for faster-than-light speed became recognized. A supposedly silly hoax became the breaking point in humanity’s understanding of the science at work here.

NASA and Nicholas were funded by Von Braun Aerospace after hearing of the controversy. CEO Joseph Charon said he was pleased with the results he has seen so far and decided to fund their projects for a quarter of seventy five million dollars. Nicholas became employed by the corporation in gratitude for their service in aiding him and his project. VBA is a global corporation that specializes in aerospace engineering and science, responsible for their push on Ion engine tech and their colonization efforts on the moon.

Unfortunately for Nicholas, this beneficial relationship slowly became one sided, as over the years, Von Braun scientists began to create duplicate versions with various different modifications to the Drive. Nicholas’ drive itself while certainly shatters the expectations of interstellar flight, was not without flaws. The drive consumes a massive amount of power. Researchers claimed that a trip to Mars and back will not be likely, and that the ship may lose power half-way to the red planet.

Von Braun Aerospace did not include project manager Nicholas in their future studies. After their assistance in his newly modified version, he was not allowed to lead or oversee the other modified projects of the drive. This lead to some heated debates with the staff and the CEO himself.

‘Nicholas probably wouldn’t care about the fact that we were making multiple different versions of his design,’ said one of the researchers. ‘He was probably upset because we did not have permission to use his designs nor did we ask for his help. Looking back, I can see exactly why he’d think that. Nicholas created a booming new era that would last for a good long time. People were interested in the idea of space once more, now fueled with the desire to traverse the stars and the planets. Nicholas felt that way too when he made this drive, flaws and all. Nicholas wanted to contribute more to society and we at VBA were not giving him that opportunity. Even his wife, who took over as project manager, didn’t give him no quarter, especially after he got fired after an argument with Charon.’

Trisha Clement, mother of two, was seemingly a happy devoted wife to Nicholas. While they certainly violated corporate protocols establishing a personal relationship with one another, they were considered to be quite the team. For six years they’ve dealt with the complications of the drive Nicholas’ made presented. But little did he know that Trisha was working on the side projects Nicholas wasn’t a part of sometime later. This further complicated the matter of their relationship when three months before his shooting, Nicholas caught Trisha sleeping with another man.

A divorce was filed and Nicholas Vittore lost a majority of his assets and wealth, including custody of his two sons. As the divorce policy in California has changed in the recent years, including their stagnant and now defunct liberal movement, many saw this as biased and unfair given the circumstances of Nicholas predicament. Many claim that this incident was a means for VBA to get rid of Nicholas once and for all. He was fired three days later after the divorce. To make matters worse, VBA had blacklisted Nicholas from every aerospace division in the world.

‘Nicholas saw this as an utter sickening betrayal. While I can’t say what he did was right or wrong, he certainly felt justified in the manner. And in a way, I guess he was. I mean, I don’t know ALL the details just yet. But from what I can tell, Nicholas was an angry, hateful man after the whole thing with Trisha. I’ve never seen a man like him so unhinged before.’

Joseph Charon refused to comment on the manner and said that it was a tragic mistake that must never happen again. However, there are those who doubt his sentiments as VBA was suspected of several incidents of ethical and corporate policy violations as well as some shady business practices. So far, investigations into these manners turned up no results.

Trisha and Nicholas are survived only by their two kids, Joseph and Aiden Vittore, who are believed to be living with their uncle, Vittore’s brother, as Trisha had no other relative capable enough to look after them.