The Starlight Lancer

Chapter Forty: Angel in Disguise

"Words are pretty little nothings. It must be action that defines us."

—Philosopher Falgred Dynasa, in her work, The Eldred Races

Zaina was too stunned to speak for a moment. Reida's cold, murderous eyes were aglow with triumphant malice. When Zaina spoke, she stumbled over her words, unable to take her eyes off the lancer's corpse. "Wh-what the hell was—what was that?"

Reida shrugged, her demeanor back to normal. "Had to be done—and you clearly weren't going to do it."

"But, he was down. He wasn't a threat to—"

"Do you really want to talk about this now?" Reida shot back. "What's done is done. But if we don't get to that extraction point by the time the captain's there, we're getting left behind—in which case we have a nice long stay in an Otmonzas prison cell waiting for us. Is that what you want, Zaina?"

Zaina shook her head. She could hardly believe her ears. This was extreme, even for Reida.

"All right, if you care more about some stupid dead lancer who was trying to kill you than your injured friend, fine," Reida said. "I'll lug that crystal to the fiftieth floor by myself if I have to."

"No—" Zaina shook her head. "No, I'm coming with, but I—"

Reida stooped over to pick up the resonedge and shoved it into Zaina's hands. "No buts. Let's get going already."

Zaina cast one last glance at the lancer's motionless body and shivered. I'm sorry.

Then she followed Reida back out into the elevator shaft.

"How are we going to do this?" Zaina asked.

Reida pulled out her hook-gun. "Same spot as before. From that room we can get into the lower ventilation system."

"I meant—how are we going to get this heavy ass thing up there?"

Reida pointed to her injured shoulder. "Well, I can't lift it, so..."

Zaina sighed. "Fine."

Her hook-gun struggled under the combined weight of her and the crystal, but she managed to ascend to the proper point. Zaina activated her magnetic forearm with her arm facing downward, allowing her to hold the Vahataman Crystal and stick to the wall with one arm. Sweat poured down her face from the strain.

Zaina carved through the security door in silence. She was complicit in the murder of a lancer and a regular person. Her stomach churned. None of this felt right.

Zaina kicked the cut-out section of the wall inward. The room and everything in it had been white but was blackened by shrapnel from Reida's grenades and the smattering of android parts, some still emitting spark showers throughout the room.

Reida walked to the other side and pointed toward a thin-grated ventilation shaft near the ceiling. "Would you do the honors?"

Zaina again grappled next to the point and carved out their way forward, lugging the crystal the whole time. When the hole was made, she threw the crystal into the duct to be rid of its weight for a moment, taking deep breaths—carrying it was one thing, but trying to maneuver with it was another.

Reida followed into the air duct and said, "All right. Now we need to get to the fiftieth floor. We should have enough coil to make it in a couple tries. Oh, and don't slam that thing again. We don't want any pieces chipping off. Ready?"

They both aimed upward. Reida took her shot first and vaulted upward; Zaina followed a second after. Her coil rewound significantly slower thanks to the extra weight.