The Starlight Lancer

Chapter Sixty-Two: The Cipher Master

"It was unlike anything I'd ever seen. I thought we were sunk—the rebels had already breached our base. I was sure it was only a matter of time until those ILF bastards pinned us down, made mincemeat of us. That's what would've happened if High Lancer Berla wasn't with us—but she protected all of us."

—Former Chidron of Emaltor Synthad Premorea, in an excerpt from his memoirs about the Emaltor Civil War

The next day Zaina woke up early. All the past strangeness was behind her for now—there was no scratching at the door or nightmares; even the whispers had died down. Today was going to be a good day—not only was she going to get her armor at last, but she was also going to meet her swordsmanship tutor.

Still not knowing how to use the gamba machine, Zaina drank a glass of water and then prepared for the day. She dashed out the door, only to be disappointed.

Her mentor was waiting, leaning with her back against a tree and casually scrolling through her vexicon. Zaina glared. She wanted to say something—so she did.

"You know," Zaina said, "you're such an awful teacher that they had to send me a tutor to show me how to use a sword."

The woman scoffed. "Is that so? Well, I'm glad you'll finally get the help you so desperately need."

Zaina ignored her response. She turned her back and practiced summoning her cipher—she had to have it down perfectly before meeting her swordsmanship teacher.

Maybe they can become my mentor, too. I wonder if High Scholar Fawndar could arrange that.

Before long, a transport arrived nearby, but its occupant was obscured by the treeline. Within a few minutes, a familiar face arrived, along with someone Zaina didn't recognize.

The familiar face was High Lancer Terco, the woman who had apprehended Zaina when she first arrived on Kaado—the friendlier of her captors, no doubt, but Zaina had little trust for anyone who spent time with High Scholar Vae.

The other person was a tall man dressed in a long, gray coat with billowing coattails. He wore a fancy button-up shirt lined with gold underneath that, and had long, black hair, gray eyes, and pale skin. He was human, as far as Zaina could tell; he wore black gloves on his hands.

"Well, well, well," the man said. "You must be Zaina Quin—the one in need of some practice with a cipher."

A little nervous, Zaina said, "Y-yes, that's me."

"Excellent. My name is Arbala. It's good to meet you, Zaina Quin."

"It's good to meet you too."

High Lancer Terco stepped forward. "Hey there, troublemaker."

Zaina glared—was she joking about arresting her? That wasn't funny.

The High Lancer grinned. Then, she said, "I guess I should properly introduce myself after that whole mess. My name is Veli Terco. Sorry about arresting you—old man Vae's pretty paranoid about your type."

Zaina couldn't care less about the High Lancer's apology. She glanced over toward her mentor, wondering how she'd react to their visitors. To her surprise the woman was smiling warmly.

"Arbala! Veli! What the hell are you two doing here?"

Zaina's shoulders sank. Apparently Arbala and Veli were friends with her mentor. Hopefully they're not anything like her.

"I came to see you," Veli said. "I heard you're doing a cracked-up job of teaching your young pupil here."

The woman snickered. "I've taught her everything she needs to know about teaching herself, by teaching her nothing at all."