Dark Omega

CHAPTER 9 - MISTRESS AND SERVANTS

Domina Quaestor Xerza—she adamantly refused to be called a 'lord' when she was incontrovertibly a woman—stood next to one of the grand false-glass windows lining her legatio—her personal office and reception area—reading through today's reports.

Outside could be seen the vast cityscape of Moeral Princeps, the capital city of the Barony of Moeral. Formerly part of the Saggitarius Combine, Moeral was one of many border worlds under Coalition control. An endless shade of steel, glass, and nanocrete, colored by twin orange suns setting behind soaring starscrapers. It was not real, but a projection displayed to provide the occupants of the interior portions of the massive building with a sense of light and space.

The Lady Quaestor had a habit of standing while reading. It was a habit some of her male servants approved wholeheartedly of. But only Prefect Maximilian Eccard was actually bold enough—or stupid enough, the jury was still out on that—to let his mistress know he enjoyed watching the way her body curved when she leaned just so against the window frame.

Now was not the time to comment quixotically upon her appearance, however, so Maximilian remained deathly still in his usual spot, two paces in front of the Quaestor's spacious desk. Which incidentally gave him the perfect angle to appreciate the sight of his superior, without making it blatantly, impolitely evident.

The mistress was an unusually tall woman: in her heels, she stood taller than him. Maxi had never actually seen her barefoot or in low shoes, but a little educated guesswork put the crown of her head about level with his forehead.

Xerza's face had the kind of classic feminine beauty you only found in works of art. The lines were too elegant, the proportions too balanced, the features too symmetrical for it to be real. In the flesh, such looks were found only in the faces of the almost-rich. Vainglorious women who could afford to buy beauty, but didn't have the wealth to move beyond an off-the-shelf look. Not so with Xerza: she alone had the force of personality needed to turn the face of a statue into the face of a living goddess.

Beauty like that needed no garish embellishments, only the lightest touch of the boudoir-retainer's brushes. The only exception was her lips: it was a rare day when her lips were not blood red, ranging from brightly arterial to sombrely venous as her mood dictated.

While the rest of Lady Xerza screamed of utilitarian considerations, she refused to let such concerns affect her hairstyle. She preferred to keep her long black hair up, always artfully arranged and kept in place with an ever-changing array of bejeweled hairnets. Maximilian suspected she had enough such hair decorations to buy herself a modest pleasure world should she ever decide to sell them. The hair was one of the Quaestor's little quirks, along with the lipstick, the painted nails, and the high heels.

Pretty though her face might be, it was her body that was the real marvel. Nowhere, neither in art nor life, had Maxi seen something come so close to perfection. Xerza managed the impossible: to perfectly blend toned musculature with the soft curves of a full-bodied woman. No man who hasn't been gelded—and a few of those who have—can look at her and not be smitten.

Xerza usually dressed in an austere fashion, favoring skin-tight bodysuits of gauze-thin crystal weave. The fabric was deceptively fragile-looking, but in reality, it was a wonder of the Technocracy—a material that was nearly impossible to cut or tear. Not exactly battlefield armor, but good enough to fend off cuts, stabs, and the occasional gunshot. She'd wear a pair of tight-fitting pants over the armor-weave, with fittings for her kine-blades and other legate trappings. An armored corset that threatened to send Maximilian's imagination into overdrive. And high-heeled boots—she had an extensive shoe collection—that complemented the rest of the outfit.

The corset had another, more critical function than enticing Prefect Eccard: it was a psychic focus. The ribs were made of the same psycho-responsive material that Xerza used for her blades. She could use them to enhance her already formidable telekinetic powers. He had seen Xerza create impenetrable barriers to ward off blows and bullets, and watched her make great leaps that defied gravity. She's sure to have other tricks down her bust as well.