On The Imperium’s Secret Service (Imperium Cicernus) by Christopher Nuttall Read Free Book Online Page B

this ship,” Lord Fitzgerald explained.  For all of his chatter, he seemed oddly diffident when it came to talking about himself.  But if he was ashamed of his own uselessness, why didn't he take lessons in piloting his ship, or cooking for himself?  “I used to serve in the Grenadier Guards.  Their cooking was appalling.”
     
    Mariko blinked in surprise.  It seemed unlikely that Lord Fitzgerald had served in any military unit, certainly not one of the elite.  And even if he had, surely he would have taken his own staff with him when he’d transferred...no, she didn't think that she believed him.  He was just trying to impress them.
     
    But Mai seemed fooled.  “Why didn’t you get them to cook better food?”
     
    “It turned out that a consortium of senior officers were conspiring to use the food allowances they’d been set by their superiors to enrich themselves instead of feeding their men,” Lord Fitzgerald said.  “They bought the cheapest food they could find for the soldiers and pocketed the difference.  The Guards were on the brink of mutiny when they got their latest unqualified commanding officer whose parents had purchased his commission.  Me.  It took me several weeks to work out what was happening and then I made a stink about it.  But the conspirators had some highly-placed allies who were draining the military of its funding and a couple of them managed to frame me as being involved with the thieves.”
     
    He shrugged.  “So I got given a choice between resigning my commission and taking a long vacation or being the star attraction at a drumhead court martial.  I thought about it for a few minutes, managed to secure the dismissal of the worst offenders and then resigned and went off on Bruce Wayne .  And then eventually I ended up at Dorado.”
     
    Mariko took a bite of what tasted roughly like chicken and considered.  Could the story be true?  But surely anyone who had had any military experience would know more than Lord Fitzgerald?
     
    The conversation went on and on into the night.  Mai listened to everything Lord Fitzgerald said and seemed to believe him, while telling him everything about their family.  Mariko could believe that their mother would be overjoyed at the thought of linking their family to a Grand Senator’s, even though it was unlikely ever to happen.  Lord Fitzgerald merely smiled and listened indulgently as Mai chatted on, before eventually rising to his feet and dismissing them.  They all needed sleep before starting the promised training sessions on the holographic creator.
     
    “Good night,” he said, as he left the kitchen.  “Don’t forget to turn off the lights after you go to bed.”
     
    Mai was still chuckling at the weak joke twenty minutes later.

Chapter Five
     
    Galactic Standard Time was an illusion, one fostered by an Imperium that liked to believe that everything of importance marched to Homeworld’s drum.  Most starships operated according to the local time of their destination, allowing their crew and passengers to become accustomed to the environment without suffering starship lag.  Lord Fitzgerald had altered the ship’s clocks to follow Tuff’s local time, but it still felt like local night to Mariko.  It was local night on the planet they’d left behind.
     
    She lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.  Their lives had changed overnight, from prisoners and slaves to...employees of a wandering aristocrat.  Part of her was unable to grasp how quickly everything had changed, even though she knew that they had good reason to be grateful.  They were free, or as free as they would ever be, actually taking wages for their services.  It wasn't quite the life of an independent trader she’d hoped for when they’d departed Edo, but at least they weren’t servicing Carlos.  And they could eventually buy themselves free and purchase another starship. 
     
    But she was worried, more worried than she wanted to admit,