Free On The Imperium’s Secret Service (Imperium Cicernus) by Christopher Nuttall Page A

better paid than typical Indents, wore shorts and shirts.  Some of the women didn't even seem to wear bras, leaving their shirts clinging to their bodies.  It might have been deliberate, Mariko realised; they could attract a sugar daddy and take as much of his money as they could.  Fitz didn’t seem to be impressed, but she was starting to see that he wasn't often impressed by anything.  There were depths to him that were very well hidden.
     
    They passed through a security check and into the main complex, looking down at a swimming pool crammed with visitors.  Some of them were swimming naked, showing off their bodies to all and sundry; others were merely tanning themselves on the edge of the pool.  One of the girls, Mariko saw, was actually an aristocrat, with features that were easy enough to identify.  The Apteryx Clan was famous for their noses, which they had engineered into their family’s dominant genes.  Perhaps she was relaxing while her father hunted wild game.
     
    A number of younger children were clustered around an arcade, supervised by older children who were clearly resentful, even if they were being paid for it.  Some of their toys made Mariko flush with envy; she’d never seen anyone fly in a tiny aeroplane until she’d come to Tuff.  She would have loved such a toy as a child, but she didn't know if they were on sale anywhere – and if they were, they would be hideously expensive.  A handful of children even had bio-engineered gills, allowing them to swim underwater indefinitely, something that she’d only seen before with people engineered to live on water worlds.  Body-altering wasn't something to be used lightly, and yet these people did...
     
    “The very rich,” she muttered, “are different.”
     
    “Yes,” Fitz agreed.  Mariko hadn't even realised that he could hear her.  “They have more money.”
     
    The centre of the complex was a towering mansion, built in a style that matched the holiday homes on Homeworld.  Fitz led them inside, nodding politely to a handful of people he knew, and walked into a room that seemed to be a combination between an office and a social chamber.  Lady Mary – bigger in real life than she had been on the ship’s display – rose up to greet them, holding out her arms for a hug.  Fitz hugged her politely before removing his hat and gracing the other visitors with a low bow. 
     
    Mariko remembered her manners and curtseyed hastily.  God knew how the aristocrats would react to any hint of disrespect.  Mai followed her a moment later.
     
    “Welcome to my home once again,” Lady Mary cooed.  “You must tell me everything about your travels.”  She waved a hand imperiously, and half of her audience stood up and left the room.  “The last I heard, you were going to Sumter,” she added, with a gentle reproof.  “Did you find it so interesting that you could not send me a postcard?”
     
    “Sumter has only one thing of great interest, and I don't think they sell postcards of it,” Fitz said, which provoked a series of high-pitched giggles from Lady Mary’s cronies.  “But I did visit Tyler’s Folly, Henderson’s World and Dorado.  Tyler’s Folly is well worth a visit, even if the sky might come crashing down on their heads one day.”
     
    “And who are your friends?”  Lady Mary asked, changing the subject with astonishing speed.  “What happened to Doug?  I liked Doug.”
     
    “Doug retired five years ago,” Fitz said, patiently.  He nodded to Mariko and Mai.  “These are my new retainers.  I picked them up on Dorado and saved them from a little trouble.”
     
    “Always out to save people, eh?”  Lady Mary said, with another giggle. 
     
    Mariko wasn't sure what to make of her.  She seemed stupid, yet there was something about her that suggested that she was brighter than she seemed.  But then, if she’d been exiled from Homeworld, she had to have done something truly awful.  The aristocracy