Rene settled into one of the chairs feeling the same peculiar sense of unease he had at Lord Armon’s manor. Though he had grown up in environments even more luxurious than this, since joining the marines he had worked hard to put that part of his world in the past. Being back among such splendour now seemed somehow surreal. There could be no doubt that Ten was a man of considerable means. Rene was no bibliophile but he knew enough about books to recognise that the library on the wall was a true collection and not merely the standard collection of works many minor aristocrats curated to give the allusion of erudition. 

Ten certainly wasn’t an aristocrat, the lack of genetic modifications made that as obvious as Solae’s unnaturally golden hair, but he had certainly risen to as high a level as any commoner could dare to aspire. That made Rene uncomfortable, though he couldn’t have articulated quite why. Entrance into the aristocracy was the next logical step. Sexual desire was hardly an important factor in aristocratic unions, given that children were designed rather than born. Perhaps he simply had as much as he wanted, or perhaps he was smart enough to realise what was likely to happen to those who allied themselves with Duke Tan. He might simply be playing the long game to curry favor with an important noble family, or trying to avoid ruinous secrets being made public just as he said. Rene supposed that he had saved them from the ambush, and for that he owed their host at least a tenuous trust. 

“No thank you,” Rene replied declining the drink politely. Ten nodded without particularly inflection as Cristeta went to work. She was an attractive woman in her early thirties with short closely cropped brown hair. Her skin was very slightly two toned with lines of a slightly paler shade overlaying her normal colouration, tell tale signs of tattoo removal surgery though with a standard skin graft rather than a genetically tailored version which would have matched perfectly.  She lifted a medical multiplexer and ran the sensor probe over Solae’s burn. The snake like probe retracted into the instrument with the sample of DNA and began to hum as it synthesized stem cells. Cristetalooked at the palm sized view screen and made few more adjustments with the deft skill of an artist at work, then began to make slow passes over the burned area. A fine mist of medications and stem cells sprayed from the multiplexer’s nozzle, binding with the wounded area before a laser communicated the desired configuration. The cells bonded and debrived the burned tissue while the analgesics blocked the pain receptors. Cristeta paused and retrieved a small set of forceps before tugging away the layer she had just deposited, removing burned and damaged cells.

Rene watched the process with fascination. The technique was similar to the medi-comp he had used back on the slavers plantation, though it didn't require full immersion. The multiplexer clicked as Cristea made another adjustment and began laying down additional layers, the stem cells adopting the computers desired configuration and rebuilding the skin one dermal layer at a time. Cristea made frequent adjustments, though she rarely took her eyes off the injury, seeming to know that to adjust the way a painter knows how much color to mix. When the process was completed a few minutes later all trace of the wound had been removed, save for the fine hairs which had been burned away. Even those would return quickly, once the follicles had a chance to develop. It was a very neat piece of work and judging by the pleased expression on the doctors face, she was pleased with it.

“How do you feel m’lady?” Cristeta asked, casting a sidelong look at Rene. The soldier arched an eyebrow at her but she turned away and flushed slightly. Solae lifted her arm and moved it experimentally.

“Good as new,” she said with a smile. The doctor looked pleased with the praise and looked up at Ten who nodded his approval before she began packing away her instruments. 

“Now my lady,” Ten went on smoothly, “shall we discuss what further service I can be to the house of Falia over dinner?”

The dining room was, if anything, more splendid than the library, though here too the expression of wealth was in simple good taste rather than gaudy extravagance. The same tasteful wood flooring had been continued but it rose to a small dais in the center upon which sat a large linen draped table with three chairs spaced around it so that the open side was to a large display of brightly aquatic fish. The water that held them hung in the air, suspended by projected force fields. Creatures that looked like tiny rays with long vanes of silver and gold flitted through the water curvetting and darting in time to some internal logic that escaped the watching humans. The table itself was laid with a variety of dishes, ranging from roasted meat of unfamiliar source, to candied nuts and fresh fruit. Several crystal pitchers held what appeared to be wines or liqueurs.

“Please be seated,” Ten invited and Rene steeped forward and drew out Solae’s seat allowing her to be seated first as befit the highest ranking person present. Ten seated himself next before Rene took the final seat beside Solae. 

“To business then,” Ten said with a smile.