Running in the Family

Chris000

Chapter 0: Prologue

March 10th, 3238, 1153 hours

Knothole, Castle Acorn, Mobius

The sun was high in the sky, nearing its apex. Birds sang their song in the trees. Castle Acorn was a calm sentinel over the forest. Although the castle was far away from the city, roughly a ten minute drive from the limits on an elaborate drive, the tops of the tallest buildings were visible above the trees. The castle was home to the Acorns for hundreds of years, built during the Dark Ages almost two hundred years ago. With the advent of technology almost fifty years ago, citizens seemed to adapt rather quickly. The castle as well advanced. Holograms, computers, new reinforcing structure and even a link to a few Mobian starships. Things had changed since the UNSC arrived in '34. Thankfully, it was for the better.

In a hall in this castle stood a single man, Human, shaved head. Ryan Percy was leaning up against the wall with a photo in his hand. He looked at it longingly. Today was his parents' anniversary. He only shared it with a few people, but his parents were dead. It was in this way he could best relate to his friend and former superior officer, Captain Christopher Vennettilli. They had both lost their parents at a young age, Chris was older than Ryan at his sad moment but the effect was the same and they both lived with it for years. The only contrast was that Chris came to terms with their deaths and moved on. However, Ryan just couldn't find peace because there was one stark difference in his parents' death:

They were personally murdered.

Ryan was born on a planet known as Constance. Constance was an aquatic world, 90% covered in water. It was a vacation spot and it had a healthy geothermal power industry. The volcanos and marine thermal vents produced so much power that it was in excess, so it was beamed onto passing freighters to export to other worlds. In addition to it's power source, Constance is one of the few worlds to have floating cities. Settlements built on floating platforms that flowed in the world's water currents. These were massive, measuring two football fields across at the smallest and up to a dozen for the largest, over a mile wide. That wasn't to say that there wasn't land-based cities. It was in Whitesand, a beach-side settlement that Ryan was Born.

His childhood was nothing remarkable. He had decent education, originally inspired to work at one of the geothermal plants, a prestigious job on Constance. However, when he was seven years old, Ryan met the one thing that would change his life. His parents were short on cash. Investments in the local fishing industry were thought to be plentiful, but the planet entering its summer season caused migrations to the lower levels of the ocean, preventing major hauls. As the local stock market plummeted, so did the Percy's investments.

Desparate for a way out, Ryan's parents tried to borrow money. The largest loaner they could find was a criminal kingpin named Davik. He headed front corporations to make a revenue on Constance, and he was a high-ranking member of the Constantine Mafia, despite not being of Italian origin. The money went towards geothermal industries. While they did make some money on it, it wasn't enough to pay off the crime lord. All his parents wanted was a better life for them and their child, and they had gotten killed on that journey.

Ryan never found Davik, even after years of searching. He gave up on it, went into developing his arms company, and did a pretty good job of it. That wasn't to say he forgot about it. Not one night passed that he never thought about it.

"Ryan?"

He almost jumped. The photo flew out of his hand and it circled to the ground. He reached to pick it up and saw a pair of blue boots.

He knelt and looked up. Sally Alicia Acorn's blue eyes stared down. She smiled slightly.

"Hey."

Ryan grabbed the photo and stood up, dusting his knees.

"Hi Sal."

She leaned over. "That's the picture of your folks?"

"Yes. Back when they were alive."

Sally didn't point out the obviousness out of respect for Ryan. "You said they were killed, right?"

"Yeah." He said shrugging. "But that was...years ago."

"Ryan, you told me about your parents in confidence. I intend to keep that in confidence, but would you like my advice? As a friend?"

"Shoot."

Sally rolled her eyes. Another gun pun, and on the same subject as three years ago, no less.

"You need to move on. Remember Chris? He lost his parents when he was young but he came to terms with it."

Ryan started to pace. "Yes, but Chris' issue was the terrorists. He fought them at Talahan and it just took a few months for it to set in afterwards. My parents' killer is still out there!" His voice echoed in the hall. Silence returned in a few short seconds. Sally stood, hands on her hips.

"Ryan, I know what you're thinking, and you aren't doing it."

"Why? What am I planning to do, Sally?"

"You can't put out a fire with gasoline."

"You know what?" He started to pace towards her. Sally's hands dropped to her side and she actually took a step back. "You never lost your parents. You don't know what it's like, you don't know Human emotion!"

Sally slapped Ryan.

"Don't say that! My parents thought they lost me, Ryan! We were lost for three years! Three godamned years! You know they had an empty coffin funeral?"

"Sally, I was--"

"And don't ever say that I don't know about Human emotion! I have met the nicest man in the world! I fell in love with a human, Ryan! Emotion held us together!"

"Sally! I need closure! Who knows how many people this man has killed!"

He clapsed her hand.

"I know I don't need to ask you for permission, but try to understand what has happened! Davik needs to pay for what he's done. Davik needs to feel my pain."

Sally looked into his eyes. "Ryan. Please...don't kill him."

He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "For you, sweetheart. For you."

She hugged him. "Thanks. You won't be long will you?"

Ryan said, "Well, we have time. Our mission won't start for years."

"Don't take that long. Everyone will miss you."

"Hey, relax. I don't work that way."

Sally glanced into space. "But, where will you go first? Do you even know where to start?"

Ryan shrugged. "Not really," he admitted "but the interesting part comes from the search."

"So you have no way to pinpoint Davik's location."

"Actually, I may know someone that can help us. They claim to be the best detectives on the planet, but I can tell that's probably bullshit. I've seen their toys though, and one is ex-military, so my odds look good."

"Well, her highness bids you good luck, Percy."

"Thanks Sal. I have to get my stuff in order." Ryan walked off down the hall. Sally looked at him, smiling. Around the corner, Christopher Vennettilli came.

"Hey, Sal!" He hugged her. "Been looking for you!"

"Aw, what for? You just missed Ryan."

"Ryan was here? I thought he went back to Earth."

"No. He said he had something to do. He bids the Captain aideu."

"Princess, remember, we were discharged. I'm officially not a member of the UNSC."

"Yeah, but you are officially a freedom fighter in our books." She said fixing his collar. "Your collar is crooked."

"Sorry, mom."

"You look handsome."

"I know." he said smiling. They kissed for a second.

"Seriously, where's Ryan going?"

"I don't know. He said he had something important to work on."

"Well then. The Captain wishes him luck."

She smiled widely. "You know...I don't have anything planned for the night."

Chris shrugged. "Me neither."

"You...want to do something?"

Chris arched an eyebrow. "Might this something involve a wonderful movie, dinner, and a bottle of the finest Pegasi vintage I can find?"

"Maybe a little bit more." she winked.

Chris smirked. "Well, I think I can schedule something."

"Glad to hear it."

They kissed once more and strolled down the hall, hand in hand.