User:07 Contrite Witness/Ronno T'Soramai

"I do what I will, when I will. I care little for your opinion."

- Ronno T'Soramai

Fleetmaster Ronno T'Soramai was an unconventional Sangheili fleet officer and swordsman.

Early life
Once a child living within the Clan T'Soram on Sanghelios, Ronno and his sister Elva were the sole survivors of the attack on his family's keep, when as children a coalition of rival states butchered the ruling Kaidon and took his lands for themselves. Forced to survive on the streets alone, they were eventually taken in by an old swordsman by the name of Zeno 'Tekhinrai, who had been impressed. Giving them a place to call home, far from the prying eyes of their enemies, Zeno slowly but surely began to tame the feral children. He took Ronno on as his apprentice and taught him the ways of dueling and Sangheili etiquette. Indeed, in another life, the foundations laid could have taken the young man on a path of genuine respect and decency.

Unfortunately, Zeno died long before Ronno had reached maturity, and his education became the responsibility of his son, Vulso. Having no respect for the man who succeeded his mentor, Ronno regularly fought with the man and grew a distaste for his lessons. The progress Zeno made with instilling honor and discipline were slowly replaced by an affinity for breaking the rules and engagement in criminal activity, even as he worked as a dock worker and a mechanic. This came to a head after he had reached adulthood, when in a dispute he killed a man that recognized him and threatened to turn him in to law enforcement.

Military service
Charged with murder and an assortment of other offences including vandalism, and abandoned by Vulso, Ronno was sentenced to five years of hard labor and corrective treatment. Imprisoned on the mining colony of Redemption's Tears, with no other settlements outside of a few military bases, it was here that Ronno met the Karus, a young Jiralhanae pirate caught during one of his first raids. Together, the two became known as a troublesome pair, attempting breakouts and frequently security personnel and civilian VIPs. It was only through intense physical punishment and an acknowledgement that escape was impossible that caused Ronno eventually to lose the will to resist, and reluctantly accepted courses to realign his beliefs with the larger Covenant religion.

With the outbreak of the Human-Covenant War in 2525, Ronno and Karus were part of a huge number of prisoners conscripted to build manpower for the upcoming conflict. Part of the Ny'Ranta Penal Legion, Ronno was initially assigned to the Sangheili portion, however constant fighting and disagreement with members of his own species saw him instead reassigned into the Jiralhanae detachment instead as punishment. Expected to die in suicide missions that didn't demand the sacrifice of the Covenant's regular troops, he and Karus both saw the bulk of action in the Asgard Stratum. They were frequently rotated into the tug-of-wars that were the Harvest Campaign and Battle of Green Hills, and ultimately survived when the Ny'Ranta Legion was totally destroyed during the Battle of New Tharsis. Ronno and Karus had both seen so much action that the Ministry of Penance released them not long afterwards, to either return to civilian life or reenlist as regular soldiers. Not desiring to return home nor serve with other 'stuck-up' Sangheili warriors, Ronno chose a third option: to reenlist as a naval officer, but in command of penal crews.