Reilly Turner and Dex Fitzroy

Reilly eyed Dex as they walked down one of the billions of Equa’s streets. The buildings around them were not as shiny as most of the others. The road was not as highly maintained as those just kilometres away. People tried to sell things as Reilly and Dex walked past; drugs, sex, stolen goods, anything that could be sold that you could not find in more reputable areas. Dex and Reilly paid them no heed. Reilly continued eyeing Dex.
"Your ship is called the Darwin, yes?" asked Reilly.
"Yes," replied Dex.
"Why 'Darwin'? No offence, lad, but I don't see the relevance of the name," replied Reilly.
"It's not named after the person," replied Dex. "It's named after the city. A city in northern Australia. It was destroyed and rebuilt. Twice."
"The man that was killed and brought back from obliteration names his ship after a city that shared a similar circumstance? A fitting name indeed," smiled Reilly.
"I just hope I don't have to go through it again like the city did," said Dex.
“Dex, young man,” he said. “What do you plan to do once your search is over? You said before that this is your life…but what of that life when it comes to an end, when your journey is at an end?”
“I don’t know,” said Dex.
“What did you do in your old life?” asked Reilly.
“I worked here,” said Dex.
“Here?” asked Reilly, slightly surprised.
“Actually, over there,” Dex pointed to a building that seemed to have long been forgotten. “It used to be a school. The kids here used to have a future.”
“So you were a teacher?” said Reilly. “Bringing hope where there was none…until you abandoned them.”
“I didn’t abandon them,” said Dex.
“Then what?” said Reilly.
Without a pause, Dex replied, “They were murdered.”
Reilly was smacked into silence with those words. His mouth went to open, to say something, to say anything, but there were no words.
“Strange that cold blooded murder should silence a cold blooded murderer,” said Dex.
“I have my limits, lad,” he said. “Every one I’ve killed has been bearing a weapon, facing me and had the same chance I had.”
“I didn’t realise murder was such an honourable pursuit,” said Dex.
“Honour has nothing to do with it, everyone deserves the right to a fair fight,” said Reilly.

The sun edged closer to the horizon as Dex stopped in front of the abandoned school. He looked at his feet, adjusting his stance, as if to make sure he was in the perfect spot.
“This is the exact spot I saw her last,” he said.
“Well, I doubt she’s going to just happen to be here,” said Reilly.
“There are crooks all over here,” said Dex. “We may as well ask around, ask one of those people back there who tried to sell us everything above the clouds.”

Dex and Reilly asked up and down the street. They asked every thief they could find about the dolphin ring. Many knew of it, few knew much more than that. Some had heard rumours of the bearer fleeing to far off places. One even told a legend from old Earth that said the ring had to be thrown into the fires of one of Io’s volcanoes. Nothing substantial came from their investigations. Until they heard a voice speak up. It was small, young. It came from the abandoned school.

“Is that you?“ said the voice. “Is that really you?”

Dex’s eyes went wide. A tear swelled. A lump appeared in his throat. His mouth hung open. A girl of about eight stepped out from the shadows within the abandoned building and into the light of day. She had blonde hair that was dirtied and matted. There was no joy in her eyes. There was no smile that should be across every child’s face.
“…J-Julia?” he stuttered.
“You know this young girl?” asked Reilly.
"Yeah…" said Dex. “She’s my daughter.”

__________________
Signature by me.{The Six Year Sleep}{Stories From Jupiter}{Game Over}
{Southern Belle} {Fireball} {Knightlark} {Rhea}{Hylian Z}{Panique} {Azzy} {Holic}