[[Ryse's Apartment, San Francisco, 2200]]
Ryse took one final look around the small but well furnished apartment that had served as his home for the past three years. He didn't have all that much with him, in fact he had barely been able to grab two duffel bags full of items before his mother had tossed him out of their house. Ryse shook his head, its not like he really wanted anything from home anyway. It just served as a reminder of what happened and what he lost. The young Iradri choked back a surge of emotion before steeling his own resolve.
They threw you out. They walked out on you and your father killed the love of your life! You don't owe them anything, he thought. Except for the fact that despite their treatment of him, he still missed them terribly. It had been 4 years since he left them on G'Lith. Since he left the only person that he had ever loved dead at the hands of his own father. Ryse shook the thoughts away and went back to packing. Moments later his door chime sounded.
"Enter."
The door opened and in walked Juliet Romero. She smiled at him, looking around the apartment. "Looks like you are getting things all packed up."
"Luckily I don't have all that much stuff to pack," Ryse responded.
Juliet was probably the only real friend that Ryse had made over the course of his year at the academy. Truthfully, the only reason that he even talked to her was because she was obsessive about dogging him. Once he finally gave in and started talking it appeared as though the two of them had a lot in common. It wasn't all that easy for Ryse to open up to anyone.
"Is that the famous bow?" Juliet asked, indicating the bow hanging on the wall behind him.
Ryse walked over and grabbed the bow off the shelf. It looked like your average compound bow, except the faint glow blue lines that ran along the center and edges of the bow. The bow string also glowed a vibrant blue color. Ryse pulled back on the string, creating a glowing projectile that actually looked like an arrow before easing the string back down, watching the projectile disappear.
"Impressive," Juliet responded, with raised brows. "You look like a regular Green Arrow with that thing."
"Green what?" Ryse asked.
"Ancient earth comic book hero."
"Comic book?"
"A book composed mostly of pictures, you should look into them when you get to the Malinche."
"I might do that," Ryse nodded. "Do you know where you are headed next?"
"Starbase 484," Juliet answered. "Assigned to their Strategic Operations department. You still miss home, don't you?"
Ryse flinched. He hated the fact that Juliet could read him so easily, although to be honest and fair he never was very good at hiding his emotions. Instead Ryse chewed on his lower lip before responding. "Yes, I shouldn't but I still miss them."
"They are your family," Juliet said. "You're always going to love them, no matter what they did."
"My father killed the only man I loved," Ryse snapped, balling his hands into fists. "And my mother defended him. Even my own brother and sister wanted nothing to do with me anymore, why do I still feel guilty about leaving them behind?"
"Because you are decent person," Juliet said, with a shrug. "Things at home will change eventually Ryse. This kind of thing happened a lot here until the middle of the 21st century here on earth."
Ryse's eyebrows shot up. "Here?"
"We weren't always this civilized, our society got past that stigma and eventually yours will too. After all, they are the ones missing out on what an amazing person that you have become."
"Thanks Juliet," Ryse responded, with a smile. "I really should get moving on packing everything up. Apparently my runabout for the Malinche leaves pretty damn early in the morning."
"I'll miss you Ryse," Juliet said, kissing him on the cheek. "Stay in touch, ok?"
Ryse nodded and watched her go. He got back to work packing the rest of his place up.
OFF:
Ensign Ryse
Tactical Officer
USS Malinche -A
To An Ocean of Stars
Moderators: Tournneau, Korath, Kersare
To An Ocean of Stars
![Image](http://ussmalinche.kersare.net/images/yens.jpg)
Ensign Ryse Hunter of Dawn
Tactical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A