"What?" I demanded, not quite believing what I was hearing, "You placed a bounty on Vallen Djarek's head?"

The other figure loosed a weary laugh. "Vallen Djarek doesn't exist."

"Explain yourself."

"Always so impatient," they chided me, "Didn't your mum teach you how to properly address a lady?"

"Who are you."

"I am Raina. Raina Djarek," she replied, offering me a cordial bow as she spoke.

Just when I thought this day couldn't get any stranger...

"...So, you're Antonin Djarek's spawn."

"Not spawn, per se. Try lab rat–I think that's more fitting," Raina replied, idly pacing along the Plexiglas divider.

"I...Don't understand."

"What's there to not understand? My father grew enamored with an ancient race of aliens, wanted the power they had for himself, and decided his own sweet daughter should help him in his endeavors."

"What you're saying is that Antonin...experimented on you?" Alannah breathed.

"Ding ding ding ding! You are the winner! Maybe you'll be the one to put a bullet in my head!" Raina chirped, imitating putting a gun under her chin with her hand and pretending to fire it, "That'd be the best way out of this mess!"

"How...How long have you been locked up in here?" I breathed, not quite grasping the gravity of this situation.

"Oh, a few days–but I've spent foreeeeeever locked up in a cage. My daddy didn't trust me to roam, so he kept me in a laboratory on...some strange planet–The name eludes me. I didn't even learn he was dead until a Federation strike force team busted down my door and said they were there to 'rescue' me. Hah, what a fat load of bullshit that was."

I almost thought my brain was about to catch on fire. "And...you put a bounty...on yourself?"

"Wow! You're smart! Indeeeeed I did!" Raina chirped, a hint of madness peaking its head out from behind her response, "I am little more than a puppet in the eyes of Maxie-boy and his posse of losers, so I want to hit them where it hurts–and what better way to do that than to get myself killed!"

Since she was away from the dark corners of her cell, I was able to get a better look at the Djarek Heiress: her short dark brown hair was a wild mess, and part of her bangs hid her purple eye as she skipped from one end of the cell to the other. I could've sworn there were highlights in her hair, but I couldn't tell–and besides, that was unimportant.

"Your clothes are filthy," I remarked, silently horrified at the sight before me.

"What, are you trying to take the place of my deceased father now?" she demanded, stopping to glare at me, "Why do you care? You came here to kill me, so get it over with!"

She paused and looked down to study her faded and stained dark gray shirt. "Shit, it is pretty filthy..." she tried and failed to smooth out the wrinkles in the fabric only to give up and wring her hands together. "So...you gonna do it?"

In response, I slammed my fist into the Plexiglas divider. It didn't budge at first, but cracks started to form the more I hit it.

"Here, allow me," Vik breathed. In the next instant. a large crack ran down the side I was hammering away at, and I took that as an opening.

Backing away, I shoulder checked the weakened portion of the divider and felt myself break through. However, I put too much force into my charge and felt myself stumble as a result.

After I regained my footing, I studied Raina as she watched me impassively. Her silver eye glittered with boredom, and I realized she genuinely wanted me to kill her.

"What did your father do to you?" I implored her.

"Why do you care?" she retorted, cocking an eyebrow in response, "Do your job and end me. My head is worth one-million creds, so take your shot, buddio."

"I care because I've seen the atrocities Antonin Djarek has committed. I may be a bounty hunter, but I am not heartless."

"Well, then you're a shit bounty hunter."

I sighed. "Please...what did he do."

After a brief span of silence, Raina answered me. "He tried to force several Darka'ash to bond with a few of his confidants–me, the captain of his storm guard, a few of his advisers, so on and so forth. Before he experimented on me, every other test ended with failure. However, Daddy Djarek decided to kill the Darka'ash that was meant to bond with me by stabbing it with a Palladium knife. Before it passed away, I was shoved into the room and told to bond with it. I managed to strike up a brief conversation with the poor soul and asked what it wanted me to do."

"And that was?" I breathed.

"It asked me to drive the knife into its heart–my father apparently missed," the heiress breathed, a guttered light reflecting from her eyes, "I told it I didn't want to, but the Darka'ash implored me to get it over with...so I did. After It passed away, some sort of gas was flooded into the room, knocking me out immediately. Next thing I knew, I was laying on a gurney. As far as I know, My father's scientists somehow managed to fuse the dead Darka'ash's body to mine, thus giving me my shiny eye."

"Were there other side effects?"

Raina took her shirt off, and I was horrified for two reasons: for one, she appeared to be so malnourished I almost would've mistaken her for a young boy. I then noticed that silver markings appeared to cover her entire body. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think they were tattoos. What made bile sting my throat was a large scar that ran up the length of her abdomen. I was no doctor, but I think I knew how Djarek managed to experiment on his daughter. Organ transplants...

"I know what you're thinking–yeah, I thought they were tattoos too–hah, how funny," she mused, tittering to herself, "Anyway, I continued thinking they were tattoos until I realized they glowed. Unless some funky ink was used on me, I don't think they're tattoos."

It was in that instant I realized the markings actually went all the way up to her face–graceful whorls and other patterns danced around her eyes, and I couldn't help but be entranced.

After I got a hold of myself, I chose my words carefully. "I am not going to kill you."

"And why is that, Mr. Bounty Hunter?" Raina prompted me, crossing her arms across her chest.

"You mentioned Maximilian had a 'posse' with him. Mind telling me who they are?"

"Well, there used to be four of them, but I gouged out the eyes of one. His name was Eugene–fucking tool. He used to be a head researcher on some unknown facility, but he decided to strike it up with General Maxie's lot. When we finally came to this station, I was locked in this cell and Eugene was in charge of making sure I didn't kill myself. However, the bastard thought he could get handsy with me...so I killed him."

I whistled. "Impressive. Who are the other people?"

"Gunnery Sergeant Neros and Commander Ryder–both military tools like their star-studded bossman," Raina answered, slowly pacing around me, "Their plan apparently revolves around establishing me as the new Grand Chancellor and using me as their puppet–how fucking original. We had to stop here because Maxie was running out of men–too many things were depriving him of assets, so he had to take a pit stop and re-assess the situation. As far as I know, we were going to head to Versalio next."

"Well, I'm glad I got here first. Are Maximilian and his cohorts still here?"

"Maxie is. Ryder and Neros apparently went to another planet in this system to bully the residents into giving them more fuel."

"Can you take me to Maximilian."

"Answer me this first: why won't you kill me?" Raina replied, cocking her head to the side in question.

"You can help me eliminate Maximilian and his conspirators so they won't take control of the Federation," I responded.

"There's more though, isn't there?"

"There is. I don't kill people who have had everything taken away from them and left to rot."

"Yep, you're definitely a shit bounty hunter."

"So be it," I breathed, beckoning for her to follow, "Come on Raina, it's time to get you out of here."

I turned away, only to pause and look back at her. To my surprise, there were tears in her eyes.

"Did I say something wrong?" I prompted the youthful Djarek.

"N-No. I...It's just, I'm confused..."

"About?"

"I'm supposed to be your enemy!" she snapped in a sudden fit of rage, "You killed my father without batting an eyelash, and yet you're talking about sparing me. Is this some sort of sick fucking joke?"

"Did you love your father?"

"He took my mother from me."

"Do you love the United Terran Federation?"

"They took everything else I had left. I could care less if the entire fucking UTF went up in flames."

I offered up a single nod before beckoning for her to follow. "Come along then. We can't dilly-dally."

The poor lass continued wringing her hands nervously, but she nodded to herself regardless. "No, no we can't. L-Let's go, I guess."

With that, we left the solitary confinement cell and met up with the rest of my team–I hurried off and lost everyone. Alannah had managed to keep up, but everyone else wasn't as lucky.

"What the–where the hell did you run off to?" Boreas demanded, "And who's that?"

"This..." I began, my voice tapering off as I looked down at the gaunt figure who stayed close to my side, "This is Raina Djarek."

"Hol' up," Boreas stated while everyone crowded around him, "You're telling me...Vallen Djarek was a lie?"

"Yes. Raina put a bounty on her head as a way to stop Maximilian and his henchmen from using her," I explained, "They were going to use the lass as a puppet to regain control of the Federation, but I plan to stop them."

"So...we're not going to kill her?"

"No," I confirmed, "The lass is going to help us locate Maximilian and his conspirators–only the General is here right now, so we need to move."

"This...is unlike you, my dude," my best friend pointed out, "You barely spare your targets. What's different now?"

"I respect those who lose everything and still manage to get back on their feet," was all I said as I walked away from my crew, "Respect my decision, Boreas. I'm doing this for a reason."

"I know, but is it for a good reason?"

"I sure as fuck hope so," I slung back before turning my attention toward Raina, "Where's Maximilian?"

"F-Follow me," she stammered, fiddling with the hem of her shirt as she walked past me, "I-I know how to get to his office–I've been t-taken there countless times before."

"Lead the way," I replied.

We returned to the elevator we had originally come from, and I watched Raina as she pressed the top button.

"So he's up there?" I inquired.

She nodded. "M-Hmm, that's where I was taken, at any rate."

"Wait wait, please explain this to me," Owen cut in, "You're...You're the Grand Chancellor's daughter–you're the heiress."

"I wish I wasn't," was all she managed to get out. After that, the elevator shaft fell into a heavy silence.

As usual, Alexander was the one to break the silence. "So...your ink's really cool."

"Huh?" Raina began, alarm flashing in her differently-colored eyes. When she realized my dork of a son was the one who spoke to her, she breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, th-thanks. I don't think they're tattoos, but I agree: they do look cool."

"Hell yeah! I can't wait to get inked up when I'm older!" Alex chirped.

"That'll be a discussion for another day, Alexander," Alannah chimed in.

"You won't say no, right mom?"

"I'm not, but I'm not saying yes either. Let's get through this first, then we'll worry about whether or not you'll get a tattoo."

Raina looked between me, Alannah, and Alex before smiling to herself. "You have a family."

I nodded in response. "I do."

"I'm glad. F-For what it's worth, you're not a shit human being."

I chuckled. "I try to do what I can. May not be the best person at times, but I hope to do a little better every day."

"I suppose that is all we can do..."

Silence reigned once again until the elevator doors opened before us.

"U-Um, this should be where th-the captain's quarters are located–or some type of quarters..." Raina explained, playing with a stray piece of hair while she spoke.

"Alright, here's hoping our friend won't get away."

"He hasn't, Mortifer. General Maxie-poo wouldn't leave until his goons got back," she confirmed.

"It's Cylus."

"P-Pardon?"

"My name's Cylus. Mortifer is just a name mothers gave me to scare their children into going to bed."

Raina chuckled to herself. "Well, you certainly are scarier than the bedtime monsters that people created."

"He's one big softie once you get to know him," Alannah tacked on, nudging me in the shoulder.

"O-Oh, really?"

"Well, I can be," I grumbled, holding my combat rifle close, "...That's not important. Please, show us where Maximilian's located."

Without another word, Raina led us through the decrepit halls full of scrap metal and sparking wires. After a bit of exploring, the young heiress stopped before a beaten up, rusty door. Before I could reach out to open the door, I heard shouting from within the room.

"I don't give a damn if the locals are armed, Neros! I need you to get fuel and other resources from Har'Kaem and get the fuck back to our base of operations. It's bad enough Eugene was killed taking care of the heiress, so we cannot take anymore risks."

A brief pause answered before a dark growl could be heard. "A sandstorm, eh? Fuck. Alright, hunker down in the Federation outpost located on Har'Kaem–I'm sending you the coordinates now. When the storm clears, get back to our station so we can leave for Versalio. We're running out of time, so we cannot afford to have any other setbacks. M-hmm, m-hmm–whatever Neros. Bye."

The instant the call ended, I barged into the room and put several rounds into Maximilian's chest. The middle-aged bastard coughed out blood as a result, and he shook his head at me.

"I...knew you'd catch up with me soon enough."

"The grim reaper waits for no one...Maxie."

With that, I put a bullet in between his eyes. After the General flopped out of his seat, I raided his miniature library and beckoned for Boreas to do his thing. While he scampered past me, I removed Fredrick's emblem and stored it in my pocket. God, I'm like some murder-hungry dragon with a hoard of Federation badges. Eh, there are worse collections to amass.

"See what you can find," I ordered him, only to hum to myself when I found a book about different types of experimental weaponry throughout the ages, "I won't be long."

"Really Cylus? Really? You just killed an infamous General, and you're perusing his tastes in literature."

"Yes."

"You're killin' me, man..."