Ruwan Ackerson

Were you looking for Ruwan's brother, Colonel James Ackerson?

Ruwan Ackerson was a former hotel concierge in Cleveland, as well as the younger brother of Army officer James Ackerson.

Early Life
During his childhood, James and Ruwan often imagined that they were fighting a dragon. Together, they created the imaginary Key of Osanalan whenever they imagined fighting the creature. Later in life, Ruwan would live in Mombasa, where he had a home and friends.

Battle of Cleveland
Ruwan was not present in Mombasa when it was destroyed, but rather found himself caught in the midst of the Battle of Cleveland with musician Myras Tyla. He and Tyla were captured by the Covenant, who demanded from them the Key of Osanalan. Unbeknown to the aliens was that the object was fictional; Ruwan and James Ackerson invented the object while playing in their childhood.

Ruwan and Tyla escaped their captors in a torn down Transport Warthog. After evading enemy patrols they were found by UNSC forces and evacuated by Pelican.

After informing his Pelican escorts about what he knew regarding the Key of Osanalan, he was taken to an underground base established by the Marines in the old sewers of Cleveland. There he met Sergeant Twyker and Intel Operations Manager Wesley.

Death
Although initially hostile to the civilian, Twyker realized the significance of the fake key and, in conjunction with Wesley, devised a plan to use the knowledge to their advantage. They found a way to contact the Covenant and inform them that they had the key and to meet them for it. Ruwan volunteered to partake in their new mission despite the protests of Tyla, and was injected with an organic tracking material. He then was taken to the agreed upon meeting place at Chagrin Falls, Ohio where a Jiralhanae Chieftain demanded he give them the key. Ruwan hesitated, and then told them he was the key.

Confused by this development, the Brutes took the human onboard the Covenant Cruiser Harbinger of Piety to meet with the Minister of Inquisition. He questioned the human and promised to spare Earth in exchange for his knowledge. Ruwan played along until the Prophet informed the human he knew about the organic tracking material.

The Prophet believed Ruwan was using it as a rescue beacon. Ruwan informed the Prophet that he was mistaken: the tracking compound was actually a targeting vector. With his last words, he told the Prophet to "kiss [his] ass" right before Nassau Station used its Magnetic Accelerator Cannon to destroy the Harbinger of Piety.

Trivia

 * Ruwan and Tyla quickly and unexpectedly planned to get married after the war.
 * He is seen driving a Pontiac GTO with Tyla through Cleveland.