Rion Forge: Difference between revisions

{{Quote|Good reputation. Eighty-five percent success rate. Best salvage ship out there… Not bad for a thirty-two year old military brat from Earth.|[[Kip Silas]] on Rion Forge<ref name="F301">'''Halo: Fractures'''. ''Into the Fire'', ''page 301''</ref>}}

Rion Forge was born on [[Earth]] to [[UNSC Marine Corps]] [[non-commissioned officer]] [[John Forge]] and [[Laine Forge]] in around [[2525]]. She was raised as a military brat though she hardly considered herself one. She had a rough relationship with her mother, who rarely spoke with Rion's father, though she was close to her aunt [[Jillian]]. Due to her father's career and the beginning of the [[Human-Covenant War]], Rion rarely saw her father as he participated in battles against the [[Covenant]] throughout [[human]] space, though she often remained in contact with him. On [[2530|August 17, 2530]], at age five, Rion went with Jillian to see her father at an officer's lounge, having last saw him six months prior. The two were approached by the drunk [[Lieutenant]] [[Prosser]], who aggressively flirted with Jillian. After the officer enraged Jillian, she struck him and, in turn, Prosser shoved her against a wall and pressed down on her throat. John intervened and attacked Prosser, leading to his incarceration for assaulting a senior officer. However, [[Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]] ensured that the investigation was fair, leading to Prosser receiving a [[court-martial]] while John was assigned to {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}}.

In [[2531|early 2531]], after the UNSC lost contact with ''Spirit of Fire'', her grandfather informed Rion that her father had been "lost". The loss of her father and uncertainty of his fate had a profound effect on her, with members of her family, and her pediatrician and physiologist, diagnosing her with various disorders and labels as she aged, including Childhood Traumatic Grief, posttraumatic stress disorder, and anxiety. Eventually, she became disillusioned with the [[Unified Earth Government]] and UNSC, turning to a career of independent salvaging in hopes of locating ''Spirit of Fire''.

Centering her operations in [[New Tyne]] on the independent world of [[Venezia]], Rion often worked along the [[Via Casilina Trade Route]]. Since about [[2550]], she used the {{Class|Mariner|transport ship}} ''[[Ace of Spades]]'' as her vessel of operations. ''Ace'' was crewed by a handful of individuals that she trusted, including former Marine [[Cade]]. All of the money she earned from her career went towards upgrading her ship. In around [[2555]], Rion was in the mining slums of [[Aleria]] when siblings [[Lessa]] and [[Niko]] attempted to hack into her [[COM pad|commpad]]. Rather than turn them other to the authorities, Rion recruited both of them into her crew. She soon became one of New Tyne's most notable salvagers, creating what she described as a "''lovely little circle of profit''", as her jobs provided her profit to keep her crew satisfied, her ship operational, and her informants eager to continue dealing with her. She often traded with [[Nor Fel]], a [[T'vaoan]] who owned [[Nor Fel's clearing house|a clearing house]] business that bought goods obtained by salvagers. The two enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship, with Fel providing Rion with information on large salvage finds before her other clients. Rarely did Rion report her findings to the UNSC under their [[UNSC Salvage Directive|Salvage Directive]].

In [[2556|December of 2556]], Rion participated in a four-way bidding war for a small piece of [[Forerunner]] navigational databoard at a small bazaar on [[Komoya]]. After winning the bidding war, she sold the databoard to a Sangheili for a large profit, despite the damage the device had sustained. Shortly after, Rion discovered information on a Forerunner [[Luminary]], which she began working towards locating. Around this time, she took on [[Kip Silas]] as an engineer. In [[2557#January|January 2557]], after spending six weeks away on their last job, Rion and her crew returned to Venezia to sell their salvage, including a [[stasis field]] generator to Fel and a small lot of [[Type-25 Spiker]]s and [[Type-51 carbine]]s to the same [[Sangheili]] she had sold the Forerunner nav databoard, bringing in a decent amount of profit.<ref name="F289/290">'''Halo: Fractures''', ''Into the Fire'', ''pages 289-290''</ref>

After completing her most recent business, Rion spoke with Fel about a salvage job on something large that would provide a massive amount of profit. Fel sent her to meet with a man named [[Rouse]] at the bar, [[Tiny Birds]], who could provide her with more information in exchange for a cut of the profit. Lessa did not take the news that the crew's shore leave would have to wait well, but her protestations eventually ceased so that she, Rion, and Kip made could enter the bar. Upon entering, Rion was accosted by a man named [[Cottrel]] with who she had been forced to put up with before. His advances made her lash out and seize him by the throat, and she was only brought back from reliving the similar experience in a bar she had witnessed as a child when Lessa called her name. Putting Cottrell behind her, Rion gave Rouse her full attention. In exchange for ten thousand [[credit]]s and fifteen percent of the sale, Rouse provided her with the salvage job's location—the abandoned [[moon]], [[Eiro]], in the [[Ectanus 45 system]]. After the meeting was concluded, the three salvagers returned to where the hanger bay where the ''Ace of Spaces'' was docked. After gathering everyone in the mess, she laid out the opportunity before them. Though there was some complaining, none of them could really resist a big score. On [[Eiro]] it was discovered that the salvage job concerned the {{UNSCShip|Roman Blue}}, a Halcyon light cruiser that had been destroyed during the war. During the search of the ship, Rion discovered a log from Captain [[William S. Webb]]. It contained Webb's description of the "dressing down" of the former captain, [[Terrence Hood]]. In his description Webb also mentioned the loss of the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}}'s [[log buoy]], which resulted from Hood's decision to engage the ''Radiant Perception'' in battle instead of making the buoy first priority.  

Rion has been described as reckless and volatile. She found enjoyment in her career as a salvager, believing that she was good at it. She created her own way to success in the business, never hesitating to take more drastic actions to remain one of [[New Tyne]]'s most notable salvagers. She presented herself as neutral, believing her business depended on it. She avoided politics, [[religion]], and [[Insurrectionist|rebellions]], though she sometimes recalled how [[Forge family|her family]] would have disagreed with her refusal to take a side.