Ryan Chu
John West's childhood best friend and a detective with the Seattle PD Anti-Cartel and Illegal Augments Division who has been hunting Ulric Stromfin for a decade. He sabotaged Ulric's beacon and portal in Maelport a week before John's arrival, became stranded when a second hidden beacon overrode his own, and built himself a band of local outlaws — the Merry Men — to finish the job from the forest. Tall, friendly, augmented, fond of a Robin Hood costume; the kind of person who succeeds at everything he tries. STD:FWH:Ch 27
John West's partner from his old life in Seattle — a friend from before the police academy, fond of dyeing his hair, the one who once encouraged John toward the force. From Thokk's description, drawn out from John in charcoal sketch, Ryan has been seen on the road near Wellbury two nights before John's party arrived. STD:FWH:Ch 17 superseded at STD:FWH:Ch 27
Known facts
- was-johns-partner-on-the-forceJohn's recovered memory of Ryan places him as his partner on the Seattle force — a friend from before the academy who liked to dye his hair, who encouraged John toward joining up, and with whom he eventually worked street duty.STD:FWH:Ch 17
- sabotaged-ulrics-beaconA week before John's arrival, Ryan infiltrated Maelport and destroyed Ulric's beacon and portal, intending to strand him. His own portable beacon was supposed to bring reinforcements through, but a second hidden beacon of Ulric's has been overriding his signal.STD:FWH:Ch 27
- longtime-friend-and-rivalRyan has been John's best friend since boyhood. He chose the academy young and excelled at everything he turned to; John spent years trailing him into one program after another and failing out. The wedge between them came of Ryan working the cartel beat while John was Ulric's door guard, and of Jen choosing John two years before her death.STD:FWH:Ch 27
- wights-avoid-himThe wights of the deep forest will not come near Ryan Chu — Sefawynn notes that they are visibly frightened of him, more strongly than they shy from other strangers from across. John's own attached wight is the exception.STD:FWH:Ch 28
- inside-contact-in-maelportRyan has cultivated an inside source within Ulric's Maelport operation — not Quinn — whom he can reach by radiophone and who can let him in through a back entrance, though they cannot disable the perimeter alarm itself.STD:FWH:Ch 29
- signature-locked-weaponsRyan's long arms are biometrically keyed to his nanite signature — no one else, John included, can fire them. Ealstan notes the same of the weapons borne by Ulric and his hearthmen, and Sefawynn places it in story alongside the Black Bear's unwieldable sword.STD:FWH:Ch 30
- recruited-jen-for-deep-coverSix months before the Maelport raid, Ryan needed a medievalist inside Ulric's organization and had Jen — already wanting to visit a medieval dimension, and his secret partner since the second week of her engagement to John — make the approach and infiltrate. He recruited her partly to exploit John's connection to Ulric.STD:FWH:Ch 34
- abandoned-john-after-extractionWith the portal open in the saferoom, Ryan re-keyed the P-330 back to his own signature, took the captured Marta and Jen through to Seattle PD HQ to *report in,* and left John behind in Maelport with a Viking invasion in progress, judging the place too dangerous and John too unreliable to come back for.STD:FWH:Ch 34
Events
- STD:FWH:Ch 26 The plumed leader who turns to face John mid-charge — Ryan Chu, in a Robin Hood get-up, head of the bandit camp.
- STD:FWH:Ch 27 Leads John away from the fire to compare notes and reveal his role here.
- STD:FWH:Ch 28 Tears into John publicly at the fire — chronic underachiever, drain on everyone, shadow.
- STD:FWH:Ch 29 Plans the Maelport raid with John over a laptop map; toasts marshmallows; talks Jen at last.
- STD:FWH:Ch 30 Doubles back twice through the forest to chase the lagging party along; presses for speed and chides John on the carp-diem joke.
- STD:FWH:Ch 31 Surveys Maelport from a tree at dawn, gives the band their final orders, hands John the P-330 and reassigns its signature-lock, then peels off toward the sally port to meet his inside man.
- STD:FWH:Ch 33 Tied up on the dim side of the saferoom beside his inside contact, the beacon he brought now in Ulric's hand — the plan, John now realizes, was the trap all along.
- STD:FWH:Ch 34 Freed from the saferoom floor, learns Rembrandt is crooked, watches his old friend find out about him and Jen, voice-locks the P-330 back to himself, rekeys the portal to PD HQ, and takes Jen and a bound Marta through — leaving John behind with a parting bid to *finally* testify against the cartel.
Backreferences
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 17
- factRyan Chu
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 18
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 19
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 21
- factFabian Augments cartel
- factFabian Augments cartel
- factJohn West
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 23
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 26
- factBlackout Grenade
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 27
- factRyan Chu
- factRyan Chu
- factThe Merry Men
- factDimensional Stabilizer
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 28
- factRyan Chu
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 29
- factJohn West
- factRyan Chu
- factUlric's Saferoom
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 30
- factJohn West
- factRyan Chu
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 31
- factP-330
- factantiplating rounds
- factJanice Vault
- factHend
- factGodric
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 32
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 33
- factJen
- factUlric Stromfin
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 34
- factJen
- factJen
- factRyan Chu
- factRyan Chu
- factRembrandt
- factRembrandt
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 35
- summarySTD:FWH:Ch 36