The Starlight Lancer

Chapter Sixty-Three: The Killer of Kaado

"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."