The Conference of Restitution and Unity / TCRU

It all began with a woman by the name of Raelyn Rennick, and her sister Emma.

Raelyn was born in Lorville, where her parents were employed by Hurston Dynamics as line workers in a salvage refinery. She doesn’t remember much of her early childhood; Her earliest memory is from when she was six years old- when her mother left. Her father immediately tried his best to fill the financial gap and, for a while, this worked out for the two of them. Living conditions in Lorville are far from ideal, but they aren’t expensive either. However, after Raelyn’s father suffered a life-altering injury on the job when she was 13 years old, he was let go. He knew that although he was now limited in his ability to do many things, if he did not find work soon he would lose his home. Against his better judgement, he reached out to Raelyn’s mother. She had become a floor manager in her department and would’ve been able to get him a job there. He arranged to meet with her, and when the time came, he took Raelyn with him. This was the day that Raelyn met Emma, her half-sister. The two of them quickly learned from one another, that the reason their parents had separated was because their mother had an affair with Emma’s father, while together with Raelyn’s father. She had managed to keep it hidden for nearly three years before she became pregnant with Emma. Emma is three years younger than Raelyn. When she and Raelyn met, they immediately got along. And because Emma’s mother had given Raelyn’s father a job, they spent most of their time together. They became inseparable, despite their parents’ relationship being quite the opposite to theirs. They grew up together for some time, and they were alike in many ways. However, when Raelyn was 16, her father was offered a better position as a mechanic with Crusader Industries. He took it, but this meant he would have to move to Orison, and take her with him. Luckily, his parents lived there and they let them move in. This was a good change for both Raelyn and her father, but for Raelyn it was also very difficult. She and Emma were able to say their goodbyes, but it still felt to both of them like a part of their life was being taken from them. Raelyn loved her father for working so hard to provide for her. She resented her mother because she believed her family was broken and that her mother was the reason for that. Emma loved her mother for choosing her even though it meant destroying a family that had already been started. She hated Raelyn’s father because she believed he had taken Raelyn away from her. These differences between the two sisters eventually grew into a rift. Having been inspired by her father, Raelyn got a job at Cousin Crow’s the day she turned 18. She worked there for five years before becoming an engineer for Crusader Industries, where she remained employed for the next decade. During all of this, however, Emma was going down a very different path. Shortly after Raelyn moved to Orison, Emma’s father was killed in a mugging gone wrong. This sent their mother into a spiraling depression, and sent Emma into a state of emotional numbness. Emma started failing school, and shortly ended up following the wrong crowds. Her mother had begun burying herself in work whenever she could, which drained her energy. She then turned to stims so that she could keep up with the work pace. It quickly became apparent to Emma that her mother had become addicted to the stims. This was deeply upsetting, but she couldn’t process it at the time, and so it translated into anger. When their mother was fired for using stims at work, Emma and Raelyn both tried to help her stay afloat. However, it quickly became apparent to both of them that she did not want the help. During these attempts, Raelyn noticed how much Emma had changed, and disagreed with the choices she was making. While Raelyn had pursued a ‘legitimate’ life, Emma had resorted to criminal acts and skullduggery. This caused them to argue and it separated them on bad terms. Raelyn discovered that at some point within the last five years, Emma had joined a gang called the Head Hunters. She had become a pirate, most of her belongings were stolen. When Raelyn would try to help her see reason, it only made her more angry. Eventually, Emma drove her sister away. They did not speak to each other until seven months after their final argument- the day their mother died. She had fallen ill and was too weak to fight it. Raelyn was deeply saddened by this, but she was more immediately concerned with Emma in the wake of it all. Raelyn believed that this would drive her sister over the edge for good. Instead, however, this seemed to be what made Emma decide to give up her life with the Head Hunters. Unfortunately, despite this revelation, the UEE had caught wind of her smuggling operations within Stanton. Just two days after the funeral for her mother, she was arrested and sent to the Klescher Rehabilitation facility on Aberdeen. By this point, Raelyn’s father had remarried and become more focused on his new family. This slowly weakened the bond he and his daughter had, while her bond with Emma was becoming even stronger than it had been before their separation. Eventually, Raelyn was fired from Crusader Industries for missing too many shifts. She had instead been visiting her sister, and it was then that they both realized how much they can agree on regarding morals. While still strongly against criminal lifestyles, Raelyn’s perspective toward what defines something as ‘criminal’ had begun to change. The legitimacy of the UEE and their relationship with the corporations that ‘own’ the Stanton system seemed, both to her and to Emma, crooked and hypocritical. They made a pact to work together to build a civilization of their own, outside of the reach of any corporations and the UEE. Only one thing was any hinderance; Emma was still imprisoned, and Klescher was deliberately extending her sentence. Raelyn decided the only way forward was to break Emma out of prison, and so she came up with a plan. Unbeknownst to Emma, Raelyn had decided to join the private security sector for Hurston Dynamics. It took roughly a year of playing along and keeping appearances, but eventually, she had been assigned a post at Klescher. After legitimizing her presence there, she began plotting an escape. To this day, no one knows exactly how Emma escaped, and Raelyn has never been suspected of any involvement. This brings us to 2955; Raelyn and Emma are very rarely seen in the settled systems- even more rarely seen together. But, those who know of them and what they’re up to, seem to be keeping quiet for a reason.