The Starlight Lancer

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Lancer Guard

"Pathfinders, SPECOps, even the fucking Core Worlds—that's all fine and good. But the second you see a lancer, it's over. They're not like anything else you'll ever face in our line of work."

—The Pirate Lord Dilmlas Grezolt, in a collection of his personal writings

Zaina froze. The lancer stood before her. He pointed his hooked cipher at her and said, "Ah! But you're no ordinary pirate. You're something more, aren't you? Don't tell me Danjai hired the Condemned."

She recoiled and said, "Hey—we're not pirates, first of all! Second, I don't know what you're talking about!"

"You're a heretic," the lancer calmly replied. "Or is that a birthmark?"

"It's not—don't call me that!"

"You don't want to be called a heretic, you don't want to be called a pirate—" He shrugged. "But not calling something what it is doesn't make it something else."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Zaina pulled out her scrapshot and aimed it, but the lancer didn't move. "Why are you helping someone like Bilvane?"

The lancer scoffed. "You're one to talk. You're here with a known pirate. Reida Qarys, right? Danjai's little apprentice?"

Zaina glanced over at her partner—Reida's expression sent chills through her body. Her usually bright eyes were cold and murderous, her gaze locked on to the lancer—they were the eyes of a predator.

The lancer, on the other hand, was surprisingly jovial. "Let's not come here under false pretenses, now. I'm assuming you two are here to kill me. The least you could do is be honest."

Zaina frowned. "I'm not lying. I'll have you know I'm going to be a lancer, too!"

His face brightened. "Is that so? Well, isn't that something. We've already got one like you back on Kaado. Spirited, that woman. Me, though, I'm not so sure about the whole half-lancer, half-heretic thing. Inviting the enemy into your home—seems a bit dangerous, doesn't it? Might be better for everyone that we met here of all places."

"I'm not your enemy because I have this," Zaina said, pointing at her eye. "I don't know how much you were paid to be here, but—"

"Paid?" The lancer chuckled. "Please. I'm not getting paid to be anywhere. The Order sent me here to thwart some pirates—that's all. I'd prefer to do it with as little violence as possible, but I don't think your friend is in the same mindset."

"Then why are you working for Bilvane?"

He sighed. "I'm not working for Bilvane. I'm here to stop the pirates who are targeting the Vahataman Crystal, which is why I'm here guarding it while her captain massacres civilians outside. Someone's given you false infor—"

A sizzling shriek interrupted his sentence—a cold, green bolt rocketed past Zaina's face and directly at the lancer's head. He remained still—at the last moment, a tapestry of hexagonal-shaped energy links appeared around him. The bolt of energy exploded against the barrier, filling the air with black smoke. Zaina dashed to the side and smacked her lips—the taste of metal had latched onto her tongue. More shots rolled off the lancer's shield as Zaina covered her eyes to avoid staring at the flashes of light.

The salvo stopped, and Zaina peeked over at Reida—there was still murder in her eyes. "He's trying to get in your head, Zaina. Come on—you know what we have to do."

"Zaina," the lancer's semi-distorted voice called from the smoke. "What a nice name. Well..." He rose into sight, now wearing a breathing mask. "I hate fighting, so let's get this over with. Zaina—Reida—I'm very sorry we had to meet." He pointed his cipher at Reida, then Zaina. "But that being said, I can't let this crystal go missing, nor can I allow the Order of Riiva to be infested with heretics."