“It’s never who you expect, is it? Best not to trust anyone considering anyone’s capable of anything.”

—CID Detective Lutha Praad

Arbala and Veli departed soon after, leaving on their transport. Zaina was on the verge of going to the forge to get her armor personally when another craft touched down nearby, one identical to the ship Garrick had called for her.

Sure enough, Garrick and Eva came rushing out of the tree line. Eva held a jar filled with smaller jars of spices, packets filled with sweetening powder, and a few different sealed containers filled with different colored creams. Garrick dragged a grav-cart behind him, upon which Zaina’s armor rested. It was shining green, with each plate’s edges gilded; the torso piece was large, covered in segmented sections, and extending down to cover her stomach and lower back. In addition to the torso piece, there was shoulder, arm, hip, and leg armor, in addition to a pair of large, black combat boots.

Once Garrick brought the cart forward and they exchanged pleasantries, Eva insisted on showing Zaina how to use the gamba machine. Her mentor tagged along, volunteering for a cup of gamba; they ducked into Zaina’s hut, and she watched in fascination as Eva worked the gamba machine, explaining every step of the way and every ingredient she’d brought in a flurry of unending information. Only half of Eva’s stream of words was committed to memory, but by the end of it, Zaina knew how to work the gamba machine, at least. Eva gifted her the giant glass jar as a “flavoring starter kit.”

Finally, they came to what Zaina had been most excited for—her armor. They all filed outside. The mentor leaned against a nearby tree as Eva and Garrick prepared to outfit Zaina in full lancer gear.

“First things first,” Eva said. “Your TAC-suit. Here it is—go on, get changed inside if you’re more comfortable with that, I won’t judge. Get that on, and then we’ll start with everything else.”

Zaina nodded and hurried to change. She kept her underwear on, not wanting to be completely nude under her armor—why, she knew not, but she didn’t want to nonetheless. The TAC-suit was just as warm and snug as last time, and covered every inch of her body except for her hands, neck, and head. She walked back out to greet the others.

Eva clapped her hands and said, “All right, then—let’s begin with your combat boots. You have your thruster attachments? Good, good. Those will allow for short bursts to assist you if you need to make a particularly long jump or a quick dash. Don’t worry about those until you’re all outfitted and ready to go.”

Garrick stepped forward and handed Zaina the boots. They were weighty, but not too heavy, and they went on snugly over her socks.

Eva turned to Garrick and said, “I told you they were the right size. She has big feet.”

Zaina blushed. “Excuse me?”

Eva waved her embarrassment aside. “Oh, come on, there’s no need for modesty here. How do those fit? Good?”

“Yeah,” Zaina said, setting aside the remark. “Yeah, they fit fine.”

“Good,” Garrick said. “These boots have a magnetic surface. You can turn it on and off by running a current through your hip stabilizers—we’ll get to that later. What I mean to say is, they’ll stick to most metal surfaces in a pinch.”

The boots were comfortable, even if Zaina was now self-conscious about her feet. “What’s next?” she asked, wanting to move on.

“Next up,” Eva announced, “is your leg armor. I’ll show you how it goes on, now.”

Eva motioned to four pieces of flat green armor—two identical pairs. She picked up one of each. “Shin guards, thigh guards. Standard stuff. To put them on and take them off, you just have to put in these magnetic straps at the end—they’ll fit on the interior so there’s less chance of your leg protection being damaged and falling off.”

Eva showed Zaina how to attach the magnet straps, which also functioned as a protective layer. Most of Zaina’s legs were covered by a layer of lancer steel. The fittings were lighter than she expected and more pliable. She had complete freedom of movement, bending and jumping and running about.

“Glad those work!” Eva clapped her hands together again. “Now, time for the waist armor.”

A short, segmented fauld wrapped around her waist, its magnetic connector clicking into place as it locked. It adjusted to fit her hips comfortably. Eva then attached magnetic front and back plates to cover her inner thighs and rear. Zaina affixed her utility belt to the top of the hip-ring, and it perfectly hugged her waist.

Next was the upper body armor, all green and gold and new; a cuirass protected her upper torso and her back, connecting with magnetic straps to either side. Her stomach and lower sides were covered by a plackart. Next came the pauldrons on her shoulders, followed by her upper and lower arm bracers, all of which connected with magnets. The entire suit of armor was designed for easy removal in emergencies.

Finally dressed in full lancer armor, Zaina swelled with pride. It all fit snugly and was extremely light and unrestrictive. Her armor was shiny and green, with plenty of the dark blue TAC-suit showing between the different sections, and gold on every armored edge. She was able to swing her arms every which way, completely unhampered by the segmented pauldrons.

Finally, Garrick approached holding two more pieces of fabric. He handed the first one, a thin strap of white TAC material, to Eva, and she fitted it around Zaina’s waist and looped it around her legs to make sure the hip plates stayed attached before tying it off around her waist as a sash.

Eva met Zaina’s eyes and said, “The white TAC is more resistant to small scrap, EMP bursts, and small ordinance—if anyone tries to hit you with a scattershot, your midsection will be a little better protected. Plus, you can use it to rig your armor in a pinch.”

Garrick then handed Eva the other piece of fabric, which was jet black but also appeared to be TAC fabric. It was thicker than the sash, more like a long, black scarf, and Eva draped it around Zaina’s neck and tossed one of the ends over her shoulder.

“This is a scarf—battle-shawl—whatever you want to call it. Its material is heat, electromagnetic, and explosive resistant. It’ll help protect your face and vital organs from explosive ordinance, and your equipment from electronic attacks. Again—”

“Glancing blows, got it,” Zaina said, then chuckled. “Thank you, Eva. I really do appreciate it.”

Eva nodded and said, “I appreciate you letting me use my own design! Thank you, Zaina. I hope the best for you. Come back if any of it breaks or if you want an upgrade. More likely, if I come up with an upgrade, I’ll find you.”

Garrick stepped forward and said, “We wish you the best of luck on your journey as a lancer, Zaina! It’s bound to be quite an adventure. It was for us.”

With their goodbyes said, Eva and Garrick departed for their transport. Soon, it touched off, leaving Zaina alone with her mentor. Surprisingly, she hadn’t made a single comment the entire time Garrick and Eva were there.

“So,” the woman said. “Making friends and the like, are we? That’s good.”

Zaina rolled her eyes. “Oh, you’re talking to me, now?”

She shrugged. “Don’t get used to it.”

With that, Zaina’s mentor stalked off, leaving Zaina to fume. Every time she had a nice day, or made some advancement, that horrible woman was there to drag everything down. Zaina deserved to feel good about herself after everything—not only what happened on Demelia and Otmonzas, which still replayed in her nightmares, but being seen as a second-class citizen by some on Kaado. Did her mentor have to be like this in addition to all that?

Zaina went back into her hut and made herself a fresh cup of gamba. It came out tasting different from Eva’s—she hadn’t picked up on all the tricks yet.

Zaina sipped from the hot cup, holding it with both hands as she leaned back in her chair and raised her feet. It felt good to relax after such a long and tiring day. Everything was happening so fast—a few weeks ago she was tending her father’s farm. Now her homeworld was gone, and she was on the verge of becoming a lancer. She had the armor, the equipment—she had learned how to summon her cipher at will and was delving into her magick.

But I don’t have a mentor. Not really.

Despite hoping for a peaceful sleep, it was not to be so. Zaina was woken by a fierce knocking at the door and indiscriminate shouting outside her hut. This didn’t sound like the heretic—it sounded like a group of lancers.

Upon opening the door, Zaina was greeted by High Scholars Geli Fawndar, Tu’Lest Velan, and Elest Vae, as well as a small squadron of masked, black-clad lancers.

“Zaina,” Geli said. “Please, cooperate—you are not in trouble.”

Zaina raised her hands, wondering what the hell was happening this time. Unless—

High Scholar Velan said, “There’s been another murder—High Scholar Yla Fidabow was killed in the library of the Celestial Sanctuary not one hour ago.”

The cold hand of horror wrapped itself around Zaina’s heart, filling her chest with frigid pain. “What—another?”

Yet another High Scholar was dead, all because she came here.

Tu’Lest Velan continued, “Do not worry—there is no evidence linking you to the crime. We do believe, however, that we’ve identified the killer.”

“Who is it?” Zaina demanded.

A familiar voice broke out from the tree line, as if to answer the question.

Zaina’s mentor was being dragged out of the woods by four more masked lancers, hands bound behind her back. “Hey! Let me go! I haven’t done anything, you fucking idiots!”

Elest shouted toward her, “The innocent don’t flee their homes!” He turned back to Zaina. “We really should be arresting both of them—just to be sure. Their little act of not getting along may be a trick to throw us off the scent of their collusion.”

Geli shook her head. “No, she hasn’t done anything wrong. But, there is likely still a third heretic here—for your safety, Zaina, we need you to come with us.”

Zaina nodded but didn’t say a word. Something wasn’t sitting right with her. Had that woman been influenced by the Eldritch? It made some sense—the incidents started after the stone arrived on Kaado. But—if it was looking for a lancer host, why not her mentor? That part still didn’t make sense—the Eldritch’s fascination with Zaina specifically.

Her mentor fought against her captors with wide eyes—but her gaze narrowed into a glare when it fell on Zaina.

“You,” the woman spat. “Just like me, huh? Look at you now. You’re just like all of them.”

Zaina winced. She didn’t particularly care for the woman, but the words still cut deep—Zaina even felt a twinge of pity as the woman was dragged away to a ship next to one of the luxury vehicles reserved for High Scholars.

“Zaina,” High Scholar Geli motioned to the craft. “If you would. I’m afraid, given the recent deaths of such high-ranking members, that the Order has no choice but to initiate planetary lockdown procedures. For your safety, we’ll be placing you in a specially prepared protective cell. Your personal belongings will be collected and brought to you.”

Zaina’s hands curled into fists. Everything was so fucked up since she got here. She wondered if she should have come at all as she was led once more into a ship, to be taken into the bowels of the Celestial Sanctuary.