Given my crippled state, it took me and Boreas thirty minutes to get myself in a decent condition. Gauze covered wounds on my arms and abdomen, and I was hopped up on more than a few painkillers.

"You sure you can handle the All-Father, man?" my friend prompted me.

I could only nod as I pushed myself to my feet.

"Whatever floats your boat, I guess..." he grumbled. "Let's get moving then."

And so we were on our way: Boreas had to travel a little slower to compensate for a slight limp I had, but we made good progress nonetheless. Since I mowed down a considerable amount of cultists, we were met with very little resistance.

In my semi-delirious state, I saw my father before me. The bastard looked so much like me: his black hair was combed back, and his pinstripe suit made him look sophisticated...For a sleazeball crimelord.

"Ah, Cylus." he purred right as I stumbled through him. "I see you're still alive."

"Can't say the same for you, jackass." I rasped, a slight snarl turning my words harsh.

He made a tsk-tsk sound with his mouth. "Now, that's not how you address your father-."

"Cylus...What's wrong-?"

"I killed you for a reason, you son of a bitch!" I snapped, rounding on the hallucination as I ignored my partner. "You deserved everything I did to you!"

A chilling smile adorned his face. "I still won in the end though. I haunt you to this day, and you still bear the marks I left on you." He started laughing to himself. "I see you still haven't replaced your eye yet. Are you keeping it to remember your old man?"

I had nothing left to say, so  turned away from the monster. I tried storming away, but my limp slowed me down.

After several tense moments, my partner spoke up: "So...Wanna talk-?"

"No."

"Okay."

Silence settled between us before I decided to talk again.

"Just...How many cultists did I kill?" I prompted Boreas.

"Um...Almost all of them." he replied. "I found a ledger containing the names of every single member of the Blind Ones in the All-Father's quarters–I was able to find it before your comms went dark. From what I was able to see, there were almost thirty members of the Blind Ones in this compound."

"And I...Killed most of them."

"Between you picking off cultists and mowing them down, I'd say hell yeah."

"Huh."

Refocusing my weary mind on the task ahead, I followed my partner as he continued to zoom down the darkened hallway. When I thought I was about to pass out, we stopped before a metal door.

"Damn, he locked the door." Boreas growled. From what I could see, a small plasma torch appeared out of the body of his drone.

"That's one hell of a drone."

"Thanks, mate. I built this baby with the intent to help you out," he replied as his creation started to bust its way into the All-Father's quarters. After several moments of silence, Boreas's drone bumped into the door when he had successfully melted the doorknob.

"he's all yours, Cylus," he told me, "Remember: Jorrick wants him dead."

"I know," I rumbled.

Pushing the door open, I stared at the All-Father as he sat behind a desk at the back of the room. He was toying with my handgun, but he didn't seem to notice me.

"You know, it's so easy to fool people," he said without looking up when I had walked further into his personal quarters, "If they're desperate enough, they'll listen to anyone who promises them a better life."

"So you give them empty promises," I stated, "I now see why Jorrick wants you dead."

"It's not my fault: some of his people came to me when the harsh winter months robbed them of their food–Of their humanity."

"They're at fault for giving up so easily and listening to you."

Finally, my target looked up at me. "And are you any different, hunter? You look like you have seen better days."

"I get by." I said, brandishing my longsword. "Now, let's get this over with."

He started laughing, and he aimed my handgun at me. "Yes, let's. I tire of dealing with you bounty hunters."

A small smirk appeared on my face, and I motioned for him to take the shot before I closed my eyes. "Do it."

When I heard my gun fire, I lobbed my knife. I felt the bullet enter my right thigh, and I grimaced as pain radiated from the wound.

"Work on your aim, you imbecile." I growled as my blade got him right between the eyes. "If you want to kill someone, aim for the head."

With a groan, the All-Father lurched forward and banged his head into the table, further driving the knife into his cranium. My handgun fell to the ground with a rattle, and I stalked forward to retrieve it. After I set it on the table, I started searching for my gear. Thankfully, I found it stuffed into a chest behind the All-Father's desk.

It took me some time to get my armor back on, but I was suited up again in no time flat. When I finally put my helmet back on, I felt a sense of calm wash over me.

"Cylus?" Boreas inquired as I returned my weapons to their rightful place.

"Yeah?" I replied through comms.

"Oh thank god...I saw the All-Father had your gun, and I thought he was going to shoot you."

"He did."

"What?"

"It was only in the thigh. Stop freaking out."

He grew silent, so I took that as my sign to get moving. Before I left, I took the All-Father's mask off and gazed into a pair of glazed over blue eyes. Wasting no time at all, I decapitated the bastard and searched around for something to hold his head in. finding a burlap sack, I  removed my knife and returned it to its rightful place before tossing both his head and mask into the sack. returning to the desk, I noticed a drawer was partially open and decided to see what I could find.

"Cylus, now would be a good time to leave."

"I know." I hissed right as I found a worn out journal. "Trust me, I was about to make myself scarce."

"Well, get moving, bitch boy! vámonos!"

"Oh sod off," I growled, storing the journal in a satchel I wore at my side, "Calm down before you have a heart attack."

His drone appeared before me, and I attempted to sidestep him.

"At least wrap some gauze around the bullet hole–speaking of which, did the bullet go clean through your thigh?"

I took off the armor that covered my thigh so I could search for the wound. It didn't take long to find the exit hole. "It did."

"Good...That makes things easier. Still, wrap gauze around that bitch."

With no choice but to obey my partner, I took the remaining gauze and wrapped it around the area where I was shot.

"Now," I breathed when I was ready to get moving, "Comes the fun part. Lead me out of here, Boreas. It's time to cash this bounty in."

"Aye-aye sir!" he replied, his drone spinning around in circles. "It's about time we got outta here!"

. . .

(Six hours later...)

"You actually did it..." Jorrick breathed as I stumbled into the tavern in Frisan. He rose to his feet when I tossed the sack containing the All-Father's head and mask onto his table. I then sat down with a heavy thud and forced myself to breathe.

"I...Need a medic." I rasped.

The chieftain nodded hurriedly. "Of course–your journey back must have been arduous."

You don't know the half of it. I thought to myself. After following Boreas back to the entrance we had originally found, I had to ride through roaring winds to get back to Frisan. I almost fell off Lucille more than once, but I still made it.

Jorrick hurried off and returned a few moments later with a young woman beside him. Her dark brown hair fell in curls, and her hazelnut eyes glittered with concern as she took in my beaten state.

"You should be dead." she stated bluntly.

"But I'm not." I said. "And I plan on not dying, so can you please help me."

The woman nodded. "I've never dealt with wounds this grievous before. I don't know if I can-."

"If you can at least numb the pain, I'll be thankful." I cut her off.

She nodded again and looked up at Jorrick. "Should I?"

"He killed the All-Father. He deserves any help we can offer him, Sophia."

She huffed. "He can at least be a littler nicer..."

Sorry lady, but I'm in too much pain to care right now. "I'll just sit over here and bleed out..."

"Sorry, sorry." Sophia snapped as she knelt before me. "I'll have to take off your armor so I can inspect your wounds."

With a hiss, my breastplate was removed. I shrugged off my duster, removed the armor that protected my arms, and slouched in my seat. "That enough?"

"I'll also need you to take off your helmet."

"Not happening."

"I need to see-."

"Nothing."

Sophia glared at me, but I wasn't going to concede.

"Fine...I'll settle with this."

And so the oh-so-kind healer tended to me. After I lifted my undershirt up, she applied a healing salve to my injuries and replaced my bandages.

"Since you refuse to take off your headwear, I can't give you anything to ease the pain."

I shrugged and dropped my shirt. "This is enough. Thank you."

Sophia cocked an eyebrow in response as I put my gear back on. With more effort than I was willing to admit, I forced myself to my feet.

"It may not be the amount you gain from other high-profile bounties, but I hope this'll be enough." Jorrick began as he presented me with a credit shiv.

Right. I began to myself. This bounty had a reward of 10,000 credits if I brought the client the target's head.

"It's more than enough." I assured him, accepting the shiv. "Thanks. Take care Jorrick. And Sophia?"

She turned to regard me with an unimpressed expression.

"Keep up the good work." I replied, flipping a silver coin her way. After that, I turned away and left the tavern.

"Took you long enough." Boreas grumbled.

"I got paid, so shut your piehole." I snapped back.

He snickered as I trudged through the snow. "So...Are you heading back home?"

Home. What a funny word. "I have nowhere better to be."

"Well then, let me guide you through this abysmal snow so you don't land flat on your face and get frostbite."

I sighed, but didn't say anything else on the matter. It took us about thirty minutes to return to my ship. When I finally entered the climate-controlled cockpit of the Ravager, I sat down in my seat and turned the thrusters on.

"Damn it!" I heard Boreas snap from the cargo hold. "I think some snow got into the inner-workings of my drone! Now I'm gonna have to fix it!"

I chuckled as I leaned back in my seat and fished out the All-Father's journal. "It's nothing a quick fix can't repair!"

"Yeah, I know. But still!"

"Power off your damn drone, Boreas!"

"Fine..."

When he grew silent, I focused on steering my ship out of Rykos' atmosphere and set it to auto-pilot when the blackness of space surrounded me on all sides. After that, I opened up the journal and started reading the thoughts of my recent kill. The first thing that caught my attention was the first page, which read: "Property of: Dr. Oliver Hendricks."

Ah, so the cult leader used to be a scientist, eh? I thought to myself as I read the first journal entry.

- - -

Entry #1:
Year: 3254X

Today's my first day on the job. I've spent almost ten years of my life pursuing a doctorate in biomedical engineering, and who would've thought the UTF itself would hire me to work at one of their medical facilities! I'll be working on one of the Core worlds, I'll have a lovely salary, and I won't have to worry about going hungry. What more can a man ask for?

- - -

I scanned over the next few entries before deciding to hell with it and flipping to one of the entries near the back of the journal.

- - -

Entry #68
Year: 3260X

I...I don't understand. I've fought against the boards, I've tried to argue my case, and yet they still don't listen. I became a biomedical engineer because I wanted to find a way to help people bounce back from any ailments they may be dealing with. We're only helping the rich and well-off citizens while those who live in the lower city suffer. I thought the United Terran Federation was supposed to care for all of its citizens, not just the ones who wave money in their faces.

I...thought this job would've been a heaven-send: I spent my lifesavings to get to this point, and yet not a day's gone by where someone had to be escorted out of the medical facility screaming and crying about a family member that's dying. I...I'm done with the UTF. If they won't even help a few suffering individuals, maybe I can do something about it.

- - -

...Huh. I thought to myself. Who would've thought the cult leader used to be a well-to-do biomedical engineer?  I shook my head in disbelief. Even the most endearing message becomes corrupted in one way or another. I chuckled to myself. At least I know why his aim was so terrible: he was a biomedical engineer.

With a another subdued chuckle, I tossed the journal off to the side and felt myself drift off into a dreamless slumber.

Better this than the void. I mused to myself, only to completely fall asleep.

-End of Act I-