The docks were alive.
Freight ships rumbled on magnetic rails, their hulls glowing faint blue from grav thrusters. Cargo drones buzzed overhead like mechanical hornets, dropping containers stamped with the emblems of the Vail Federation. Voices overlapped with merchants, smugglers, sailors and beggars, all swallowed by the electric pulse of Unity City's underbelly.
And me?
I walked among them like a rumor wearing a mask.
My shadows fanned out beneath me, crawling along the concrete like spilled ink. Every footstep echoed wrong, soft, deliberate, too light to be human.
I tell you this because I want you to understand something:
When I move through crowds, the world forgets me.
That's the blessing and curse of being what I am.
"See," I whisper, almost like I'm letting you in on a secret, "the bounty business isn't what you think it is. There's no code, no heroics, no righteous pursuit of justice. Just people...Humans and Humarites hunting each other for scraps of currency and scraps of ego."
I step aside as a transport droid trundles past, its sensors flicking red at my presence before deciding not to see me at all.
"Humans hunt Humans for money," I continue, weaving through the crowd. "Humarites hunt Humans for power. Humans hunt Humarites for pleasure. And Humarites hunt Humarites for survival. It's all so… circular. A beautiful, rotting wheel of hypocrisy."
But enough of this lecture. You're curious, aren't you? About the job.
The one Vex Marrow stole from me.
I can see the question in your eyes. I can feel it.
Don't worry , I'll tell you a bit. Just enough.
It involved a transport. A sealed crate. And something inside that crate worth far more than any bounty posted on me. Something living. Screaming. Beautifully illegal. But I'm not a bounty hunter, nooo, don't mistake me for something so… pedestrian. I don't collect, I correct. I move where the fun is. And what's the fun in joining a guild when chaos tastes better alone?
A gust of metallic wind whips through the dockyard. My shadow ripples outward like thin tendrils crawling up cranes, wrapping around containers, slithering beneath vehicles. Each one is an eye, a tongue, a memory of darkness. Through them I taste the world. Through them I see him.
A flicker on a holo-screen catches my attention.
Another wanted ad.
SHADOW DAWN
"The Shadow Null"(again not my Null)
Reward: 2,000,000,000 ANDROSS
Warning: Extremely Dangerous
The figure on the screen tilts its masked head..me...frozen mid-motion. The crowd glances up, murmuring. I hear a woman whisper, "That's the monster who killed the Hawk general."
Monster.
That word again.
I shrug, talking softly to you, "Well, that's new. Two billion Andross. I'm moving up in the world."
You want to know how I earned that price tag, don't you?
Fine, let's reminisce.
There were the little things, some stolen transports, a few hacked Hawk drones, a warehouse fire that may have had civilians in it and children (I didn't check). A few Humarites who got in my way; I broke them in half like brittle glass. Killing of politicians. Breaking Racial laws. Destroying Hawk bases. Then there was the Hawk general which was one of many.
Ah, him.
He was supposed to be a routine visit. I needed weapons, and money, and maybe a little information. I asked politely. He drew first.
So I shot back.
"You can't call that murder," I tell you as I drift through the market crowd. "I was defending myself. Sure, maybe I over-defended him into the afterlife, but honestly? he started it."
My tone sharpens, mock-hurt. "And besides, I was just going to borrow the weapons. It isn't stealing if the owner's dead, right?"
I stop walking.
Smile under my mask.
My shadows still.
There he is.
Vex Marrow.
Tall, silver-eyed, armor like woven obsidian plates. His face tattoo glows faintly under the blue lamps of the dock. A scar runs down his cheek, curved like a question mark that never found its answer. Around him are his men which were up to four, maybe five. Armed. Nervous. Very mortal.
"Oh," I whisper, "I've missed this feeling."
I step out of the crowd.
My Grand Entrance.
If you're going to do something stupid, do it beautifully.
The shadows flare out from under me like a bloom of black petals. Lamps flicker. Holo-boards short out. My voice carries through the chaos:
"Vex Marrow! The man, the myth, the thief of my entertainment!"
The dock workers scatter as my laughter echoes off the metal walls. Vex's men raise their rifles in panic. Vex himself doesn't flinch.
"Dawn," he says, calm as a blade. "You shouldn't be here."
"I could say the same to you," I reply, strolling forward. "You stole something that belonged to me."
"I took a contract. You don't own contracts."
"Correction," I say, lifting a finger. "I own the art of it. You just perform the notes."
The first shot rings out.
I sigh.
"Excuse me a second," I mutter to you.
Shadows erupt around me. Bullets vanish into them like stones into water. I flick my wrist, and two hunters vanish, snatched into the dark, their screams cut off halfway. The third swings a plasma blade. My shadow catches it, twists, and uses his own momentum to impale him on a railing.
I talk while I move. Always have.
"You see, these men...these bounty types always think violence is about domination. It's not. It's composition. Every strike, every scream, every moment of hesitation is a note. And I-" I drag one man's head against the floor until silence "-am a composer."
Someone lands a lucky hit,a bullet grazes my shoulder. I pause mid-sentence.
"Oh," I say softly, "that was rude."
I turn toward the shooter.
My shadows crawl up his legs, through his mouth, through his eyes. He convulses once, twice. Then he's just a shape. A collapsed, unrecognizable shape.
I exhale.
"Apologies for the interruption," I tell you, wiping nonexistent dust from my jacket.
Now only Vex remains.
---
He stands still, gun holstered, staring through me.
"Still dramatic as ever," he says. "You've grown predictable."
I tilt my head. "Predictable? I'm consistent. There's a difference."
"You killed a Hawk general."
"I accidentally killed a Hawk general."
"Do you ever feel remorse, Dawn?"
That word tastes strange. Remorse.
I let it sit on my tongue, then swallow it.
"Sometimes," I answer, voice soft. "But only when I run out of ammunition."
He smirks. "You really think I'll tell you where the crate is?"
"Oh, Vex," I chuckle, "you misunderstand. I don't need you to tell me. I just need you to scream."
I step closer. The shadows around us rise like black smoke. My mask glints under the flickering light.
"Now," I whisper, almost kind, "how shall we play this? Torture? Impalement? My personal favorite.....Eden? I promise to make it creative."
Vex's gun flashes upward.
So fast....beautiful reflexes.
But my shadow's faster.
The darkness snaps like a whip, knocking his weapon aside and pinning him to the steel crate behind him. I crouch down, my voice dropping to something almost gentle.
"Let's call this a reunion, not an interrogation. I'm just here to pay back the favor."
His eyes narrow. "You've lost your mind."
"Lost it?" I smile under the mask. "Oh no, my enthusiastic friend Vex. I threw it away. It was getting in the way."
Around us, the dock falls silent.
Even the city seems to hold its breath.
I turn back to you one last time.
"Now, pay attention," I whisper. "This is where things start to spiral. But don't worry you'll get your past soon enough. You'll see how the world made me this way. For now…"
I glance at Vex.
"Let's make some music."