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

Worlds, even in pilot training centres.  “You have to keep watching for signs of movement.”
     
    Mai looked up at him, still alarmingly worshipful.  “How many of them have you killed?”
     
    “Nine,” Fitz said.  He sounded pleased with himself.  “And three almost killed me.”
     
    Something moved...and Mariko snapped off a shot at it.  The bullet snapped through the branches and vanished into the distance.  There was a flurry of motion as birds and insects scattered, hoping to escape the predatory humans, but no sign that she’d hit the Chameleon.  She tried to listen, hoping to hear its footsteps, yet the sound of the living jungle drowned out its tread.  And then she saw a faint shimmer right at the edge of the clearing and fired at it.  Something the size of a large cat hit the ground and slowly shimmered into existence.
     
    “Its natural camouflage is very good,” Fitz said.  “When it dies, it slowly reverts to its normal appearance.  You need to watch the bastards at all times.”
     
    He grinned at them.  “Do you think that you could learn to enjoy hunting?”
     
    “I don’t know,” Mariko admitted.  “It seems terribly unsporting, somehow.”
     
    Fitz laughed.  “Ah, but that’s where Tuff comes in,” he said.  “The animals on the planet have an excellent chance of killing you, too.”

Chapter Six
     
    “Approaching Tuff Phase Limit,” Mariko said.  “Prepare to drop to sublight.”
     
    “Preparing to drop to sublight, aye,” Mai said, from her console.  Neither of them could avoid a little tension, even though Bruce Wayne’s drives had performed perfectly, better than either of them had expected.  But leaving a pocket dimension, even at the projected endpoint, was always riskier than entering one.  “Drive ready to disengage.”
     
    “Disengage in ten,” Mariko ordered.  She counted down the seconds to zero.  “Now!”
     
    The unearthly darkness of phase space seemed to come alive with light as they plunged back into the normal universe, heading directly for the planet ahead.  Tuff was surrounded by starships, mostly space yachts like Bruce Wayne or interstellar passenger liners from a dozen different worlds.  The Imperial Navy had installed a handful of planetary defence stations in orbit and backed them up with a small squadron of destroyers.  It seemed an excessive amount of protection until Mariko realised that Fitz was hardly the only wealthy nobleman to come to Tuff on safari.  They’d want some heavy protection if they were going to be slumming it along the Rim.
     
    “OTC is hailing us,” Mai said.  “They want to know who we are and what we’re doing here.”
     
    “Shoot them our IFF and request an orbital slot,” Mariko said.  Each planet had its own set of regulations about what they could and could not do in orbit.  Some of them even tried to ban non-local shuttles from operating in their airspace, citing safety concerns.  Mariko privately suspected that it had more to do with a determination to take every last credit from the visitors that they could.  “And then download the local traffic regulations for us to study.”
     
    “I shouldn't worry about them,” Fitz said, from the hatch.  He’d changed into a safari outfit, complete with hat and gun slung over his shoulder.  “They generally allow everyone to use their shuttles as long as they keep OTC updated.”
     
    “We should check it anyway,” Mariko said.  Fitz could go through life ignoring rules, but little mortals such as herself needed to obey the law.  A black mark on her pilot’s licence would make it harder for her to get a job in future.  “They might have changed the rules since you were last here.”
     
    “Picking up a signal,” Mai said.  “It’s addressed to Lord Fitzgerald.”
     
    “Put it through,” Fitz ordered.  An image of a large woman, wearing so many jewels that Mariko couldn't understand how she could walk upright, appeared