An infamous and deadly bounty hunter known for pulling impossible exploits many wouldn't even consider now faces the consequences of his arrogance and pride. In spite of the situation, he clings to his confidence, and seems all too willing to accept the end.
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It's been ages, writers block and life getting messy. To ensure I don't abandon this page too long, I decided to share an old unfinished creative writing practice piece, focusing on dialogue and foreshadowing. Hopefully I'll be able to continue Celestial's Remnants soon. Also the extra bit after the end was just an alternate ending I drafted and would've discarded but didn't want to lose the concept in case i returned to it at some point, your usual edgy cringe from a younger self. Feedback welcome as always!
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In a galaxy such as this, conflict and tension are inevitable and widespread, yet for now, the galaxy remains at peace... physically. While no shots are fired, fierce rivalry driven by spite and hate encourage espionage across every faction, some bounties paying more so than others, a lucrative opportunity for anyone to take. Sat at the top of the taboo business sat an avali known as Talan, seemingly untouchable by any of his targets, yet equally disloyal, pledging no allegiance, and simply taking the highest offer. While his work and personality were known across every faction, his many aliases kept him unknown from anyone, though some theorize anyone who did know his face should keep quiet for their own sake.

His most recent commission came from the Nova Syndicate, tasked with discretely stealing some data from the Illuminate, an organization with widespread reach and near fantasy levels of technology, even for the age of widespread space travel. Such technology stirred envy across the galaxy, with this data allegedly contained schematics for one of their experimental weapons programs, codenamed “firelance”. A mission that wasn’t uncommon, with such envy came such opportunity for the freelancers such as Talan, easy credits.

(idk maybe i’ll write something about his actual mission later, for now it’s irrelevant)

Just like that, he had the datachip in hand, and a destination in the nav computer, the rendezvous point for the Nova Syndicate. A flash illuminated the cockpit of the shuttle as it dropped out of hyperspace, the rumble of the frame shift drive powering down behind, as the dark void gave way to a new celestial body, an ice planet near the outer reaches of the Nova Syndicate’s sphere of influence. With routine care, Talan guided his shuttle down through the atmosphere, the sound of the hull becoming ever present, as it shuddered and groaned under the atmospheric stresses. He managed to scout out a landing spot, an icy plain where he could touch down, and uneventfully placed his shuttle down.
Talan stepped out and glanced over his visor, displaying the coordinates to the rendezvous point. The crunch of the snow underfoot and the light howl of the wind was all that could be heard for miles, the blinding white snow and the sweeping, swirling snowflakes were all that could be seen. Desolate. The trail eventually led to an icy forest, providing some refuge from the harsh storm, the trees all around were tall and straight, reaching desperately for the stars, as if trying to escape their bleak purgatory. Few leaves lay on the ground, the trees clinging to their lifeline desperately, yet the forest remained as silent as the plains, no sign of any fauna to speak of.

Stepping on steadfast, Talan soon reached an opening, a small area of open space, lightly layered with snow. It was now that movement could be heard, another avali approached from the other side of the opening. Glancing up, they turned to show their shoulder plate, showing the emblem of the Nova Syndicate, this was his client. Silently, and never taking his eyes off them, he raised his hand, showing the datachip. The avali raised a tablet, containing the rest of the digital payment for the data. Cautiously, they approached each other, and tentatively exchanged their items without a word. Their business had concluded, and the avali quickly paced away, out of sight.

Talan turned to walk back to his shuttle when he heard something. He remained still, silently scanning the area with his eyes, before activating his thermal implant in his visor.
For a while, there was nothing, until there was a small signature that briefly appeared behind a tree... breath. He quickly took out his energy pistol and fired into the tree. The weak wood provided no cover for the soldier behind, the tungsten pellet slicing through the bark and striking the soldier in the chest. As they collapsed however, a group of soldiers emerged from the surrounding trees, all aiming for Talan. Thinking quickly, he sprinted back into the forest, using the flora as cover before finding a fallen tree and hiding behind it. Peeking out, he aimed at the soldiers, now scrambling to his position, and took careful aim, firing at each of them. While a few soldiers managed to reach natural cover, many were still moving through the clearing, easy prey for the trained bounty hunter. One by one they fell, leaving his attention to the surrounding forest. He listened carefully for any sounds, yet it seemed silent again.

Minutes dragged by, noone making a move. The silence was unsettling, but Talan wasn’t concerned, he knew he had to wait out his opponent. He took the time to mentally recall what had just transpired, and came to the conclusion that there were only three remaining, if they were still around. He got an idea, and carefully gathered some surrounding snow. Carefully, he lifted it above the fallen tree he hid behind, moving it to appear as natural as possible. Suddenly there was a crack, as a bullet struck the wooden cover, then another. Talan quickly ducked the snow down again, before examining the wood. The plan had worked, the angle of the bullets now told him exactly where to look for them. He carefully moved from his position, managing to hide behind an adjacent tree, still standing strong, and peeked out, looking in the direction of the bullets. After a moment of consideration, he locked in on two trees, and began to fire at them. The soldiers were startled, and jumped from their positions, right into Talan’s sights. A few shots later, they became part of the landscape.

Despite his usual demeanour, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pride, an air of satisfaction. He turned to walk away, before he came face to face with another soldier. Before he could react, his pistol was yanked from his grip, and thrown aside. Now more alert, his adrenaline began to flow, causing him to hastily jump out of the path of the rifle pointed at him, before he swiftly drew an aerogel blade, and slammed the hilt against the rifle, knocking it too to the ground. Upon the equipment, the emblem of the Illuminate could be seen, the soldier didn’t give up however, and quickly drew his own blade, as the two began to exchange swings and swipes. The occasional clash of the blades rung out for the forest to echo, as the two opponents fought, observing every micro movement that the other did, analysing each other’s fighting style.
In such an age, melee fighting was a rare sight, which many were never trained in. However, the Illuminate were one of very few organisations that still formally trained their soldiers in such an art. While Talan was tricky and deadly, skilled and dexterous, melee fighting was something he was never strong in, as in a galaxy such as this, such a situation would never arise. Until it did. A blade made contact with his arm, causing him to stumble back, the avali now taking advantage of this, and managing to kick out at Talan, knocking them to the ground. The soldier quickly stomped down on Talan’s arm, forcing him to give up his blade, before it too, was thrown aside into the snow.
Now defenceless and wounded, Talan shuffled back until he was sat against a tree, clutching his bleeding arm. He looked up at the soldier, who was now pointing their blade right at him, yet his face conveyed no fear, but rather, disbelief and surprise. The soldier noticed this, and raised their eyebrow curiously. It was clear there was no longer a threat, and the outcome would be the same as was always planned, so he decided to see if he could ask some questions... to the “legendary Talan” before him.

“Are you not scared at all?”
Talan scoffed at the question
“What difference would it make? Just finish your job”
Once again, such a reply piqued the soldier’s interest
“Such a powerful avali like you should surely put up more of a fight...”
“I am powerful, but i can also tell when a cause is lost, your mockery falls on deaf ears, so just finish your job”
There was silence between the two for a while
“Before i do, i have some questions i’d like to ask. What is your motivation? How can you find it in yourself to do such acts that you’re known for. Assassination, espionage, destruction of ships with innocent lives inside... even just blatant murder to cause a distraction... what drives you?”
“Pays well.”
The blunt response was unexpected, yet raised more questions in the soldier’s mind
“You clearly have no morals to speak of, thinking only about yourself, so what would you do if you were tasked with something life threatening? Well... more so than your usual work, something that would pose a genuine threat to your life, what would you say?”
“Pay me enough and I’ll do it”
“What about the danger, your life?”
“What have I got to lose?”
“... don’t you hold anything close? Anything dear at all? Or anyone? Your family perhaps-”
“Is dead. I have nothing that death can take from me.”
...
“What drives you to act like you do? You are smart enough to know that money means nothing if you can’t even value your life... there’s more to you than meets the eye...”
Talan scoffed
“And since when did you become a therapist that cares?”
“Simple curiosity, but your response proves my point, you have a hidden story”
“I was broke, needed money, turned to freelancing, that’s all there is to me”
There was another moment of silence
“But you were once a young avali like any other, you once had dreams beyond such an... empty life, you once were innocent and caring... what... happened to that avali?”
Talan simply scoffs “why do you care”
“As i say, my curiosity leads to such questions... and you’re in no position to run away, i’ll keep asking until you talk”
Talan glanced at their bleeding arm, and let out an annoyed sigh
“Just kill me already”
“Just talk to me already”
Talan scoffed again
“Life needs something to happen, a dull repetitive life following orders is no life at all! I do what I want because nobody but myself will serve me. I keep myself busy to keep my mind occupied. There is nothing more, yet still far more of a life than you’ll ever live!”
The soldier silently stared at the fallen bounty hunter, beaten yet still prideful until the end. Too dangerous to keep alive or take prisoner, there was a clear objective, orders from above. Under the helmet he considered Talan’s words, before walking towards his half buried rifle, discarded in the melee, examining it carefully. Illuminate issue, like his armor, like his training, like his beliefs. He thought to his fallen comrades, the squad Talan had taken out, and with conclusive resolve he pointed the barrel of the rifle towards the bleeding bounty hunter.
There was a crack, an echo, and silence. Talan’s purgatory had ended.

. . . . . .
(edgelord cringe alt ending)
“To... keep things simple... i, like any other Avali, was raised in a pack, and like any other pack, we had bonds unbreakable by all but the strongest of forces, barely spending 5 minutes away from each other at a time, constantly working, teasing, laughing, comforting and supporting each other...
but our pack was mistaken for another pack, and we were hunted down by a government, we hid in an abandoned warehouse and one by one, they found us.... everyone but me.. the pack they mistook us for was one member smaller than our own, so they thought they had everyone.
one... by one... by one... by one... gunshots echoed through the building, mere meters away from my hiding spot, and after i was sure they had left, i crept out... and saw the blood... all over the floors and walls... my packmates sprawled across the ground...
i couldn't breathe... not for months after the event... i tried to get into normal work again but i was constantly deemed mentally incapable... i started to run out of options, so i became a freelancer, offering the same services i do today. anything for a price. but money isn't everything... when i think about work, i'm not thinking about the past.... work is my escape, how i keep running, so for over a decade i've worked until i passed out, then immediately worked again, never daring to even consider looking back...”

There was a moment of silence, as the soldier simply stared at Talan, who was silently collecting their thoughts. He appeared more tense than before, as time passed, until he finally spoke. He turned his head away as he did so, speaking quietly
Silence fell upon the two avali, Talan was gritting his teeth, as his eyes began to silently release a few tears. The soldier simply stared at him in surprise and sympathy. He spoke quietly and gravely
“While I understand you are in immense pain… it would be a disservice to you if I tried to comfort you… while it pains me to do this, I cannot let you leave here, by order of the Illuminate… I-“
The soldier cut himself off, letting out a quiet sigh, he knew that if he spoke too long, he wouldn’t be able to finish the job. He silently got up and walked towards the rifle, thrown aside in the fight before, and picked it up, examining it, trying to distract himself from what he was about to do.
There was a crack, an echo, and silence. Talan’s purgatory had ended.