The Starlight Lancer

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Rebirth

"Envy those who would get to travel to every corner of the Nova Rim. Yes, envy those who travel through the Hichron Spiral—who witness the majesty of the Auda Lights just beyond Alvius, or behold the legendary beauty of a Fargrim sunset. Envy them, or come along and see it all for yourself. The galaxy is out there. It is waiting for you—and if you don't go see it, someone else will."

—Allegiant General Midus Delverico, in a recruitment speech at the Highforth College

When Zaina came to, she was lying in a bed. The room around her was entirely white and thoroughly cleaned. She groaned, her head still spinning—the fingertips on her left hand scraped against the silky sheets. No sensation was coming in from her right.

Gasping, she sat up—suddenly she was thrust back into that room. The whispers in her ears, the attack by someone she thought was a friend—all under the watchful eye of the Eldritch's orb—

As quickly as it came, it was all gone. Trembles coursed through her body for another minute like aftershocks. She glanced at her right shoulder, where a short stump was wrapped in bandages.

That's right. It's gone. Zaina sighed. Nothing on Kaado is what I thought it was going to be.

The door opened, and a familiar voice entered through the threshold. "Zaina Quin, it's so good to see that you're awake."

High Scholar Geli Fawndar hovered into the room, flanked by Arbala and High Lancer Veli Terco.

Zaina choked out in a raspy voice, "Where am I?"

Geli replied, "You're in the Kaado Healing Complex. The Intensive Unit, to be specific; you were placed in a month-long coma to allow all of your wounds to heal fully."

Zaina leaned her head back in disbelief. A whole month had gone by.

With a nod, Geli replied, "Yes—lancer regenerative abilities are strong, but they're at their strongest while you're in stasis—and at their weakest when a lancer first has to use them. You should be ready to be discharged by the end of the day. You can rest and relax—I'm only here with a question or two."

Zaina's eyebrow raised. They didn't think she was responsible for all this, did they? If they tried to blame her after everything she'd been through—

Her thought was interrupted by the High Scholar. "Fear not, Zaina. We know now who committed these heinous crimes. Your innocence is not in question here—nor is your devotion to the Order, which was proven by what you endured. We only wish to confirm what we discovered over the course of our investigation into these events."

Zaina sighed. These vultures wouldn't even let her recover properly without pecking after whatever knowledge she had—it was part of being a lancer, she supposed. "All right. Do your worst."

Geli waited a moment, bobbing her head to measure her words, then said, "First, I think we should fill you in on recent events. Xyrthe Belgrand was released from her holding cell the day we found you and everyone else."

Zaina held up a hand. "Who is that, exactly?"

"Your teacher. Xyrthe Belgrand."

Zaina almost smiled, but recent events still weighed too heavily on her heart. She'd finally learned that woman's name—all it took was nearly dying.

I'll bet Xyrthe is gonna be thrilled now that I know her name.

The High Scholar was going on. "...Based on an analysis of materials in the room, we determined that you had likely engaged and killed the third heretic in combat—is this true?"