Her fourteenth birthday now past, Cami was brimming with excitement as late this afternoon she boarded the flyer for her move to Lepus Mal. Her interview had gone well, the clubs managers decided that they didn’t need to see her in person so it had been performed by comm. On being learning the terns of the contract with the club, they were stunned at first at the amount of pay that Cami was to receive. One hundred Konna a month of which a quarter went to her parents left them both shocked as well as happy at the huge increase in the family’s income. Another quarter was kept in trust while Cami got the rest.

*********

Today being a school day, only her parents and Dar, now forgiven, had come to see her off. She had said her farewells to her sisters, Tremma and Damma before they left for school. For this special day, Cami wore her best travelling clothes under her cloak.

“Take care little sister.” Dar spoke awkwardly, “It’s the big city you are going to.”

“I will big brother.” Cami nodded gravely, then with a glint in her eye added, “Who protects me even when I don’t want him to!” Dar hid his smile though his mouth quirked, nodded and stepped back.

Father, mother and daughter looked at each other. “Comm us as often as you can now, Cami.” Her mother spoke first.

“Do well, and get a good contract Cami, one with a good family.” While the words were calm, the look that passed over her father’s face said much more. Cami almost lost the control she had over herself.

“I will, mother, father, I will.” Came out in a whisper. I promise that I will, came the hidden thought.

“Time to board the flyer, Cami.” The woman who was to be her guardian to the capital was used to such farewells and spoke in a calm, confident manner.

No hugs or kisses were exchanged, not in public. That type of intimate farewell was only done in private, so with just an exchange of good byes along with a small bow, Cami and her guardian climbed aboard the flyer and went in search of their compartment as her parents and older brother left.

“Here it is!” Cami called to her guardian in her excitement. Jan ot Weir, maintained her composure. “Thank you Cami, remember we are in public now so control of yourself is important.”

Immediately Cami composed her features into a careful expression she felt was suitable. “I am sorry, madam Weir.” She said. “Here is our compartment.” She stood aside for the older woman to enter first.

“Thank you, Cami.” Jan ot Weir replied as if she hadn’t spoken earlier and went in. The compartment was well appointed and equipped with two beds for the overnight trip to the capital. One of the beds had to be brought down from overhead, a job for the cabin attendant. As well, they had sole access to a small but fully serviceable bath room, very important in a private and status conscious society.

“This is for us?” Cami asked Jan in disbelief.

“It is,” the guardian replied. “Your bag go’s here.” Cami stowed her luggage in the small storage area.

“Oh, we are moving!” The exclamation came as Cami sat and looked out the window. The trip to the capital of Ti Lepus was a magical journey for the young woman, her whole future before her. She sat and dreamed as the flyer sped east on its magnetic drive. Not even the mandatory inspection of their travel documents could damp Cami’s spirits.

*********

Watching her charge, Jan knew that it was not the time for a talk, tomorrow would do. It doesn’t matter what their status is, Jan thought, hiding her smile, the first train ride is oh so special. The evening meal was taken in a dining car and was the only such provided. Soon it was time for the beds to be set up.

*********

“I am sure that I won’t sleep.” Cami protested. “I feel that I could stay awake all night!”

“You will need to be rested for your arrival in the capital tomorrow, Cami.” Jan ot Weir reminded, “You don’t want to make a poor impression on your first day, now do you?”

Cami went still, the warning was clear. “Yes Madam Weir, I don’t want to do that. I will change now.” Collecting her night clothes, Cami washed and performed her personal ablutions, cleanliness being an obsession for the people of Ti Lepus. Suitably dressed, she climbed into the top bunk and laid back. As the flyer floated on into the night, she wondered about her future. Dreaming of being picked for a contract quickly, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. The nightmare of being passed over and having to return to her family never crossed her mind.

*********

“Wake up Cami,” from her guardian had Cami sitting up and bumping her head on the ceiling of the compartment. Smiling and already dressed, Jan ot Weir was standing close by the bunk. “The attendant will be here soon so go wash and change.” Rubbing the sleep from her eyes and face, Cami collected her travel clothes and headed into the bathroom. By the time she had washed, changed and brushed her hair, the room had been made up. “It’s the eighth period, Cami, we will be in Lepus Mal by the tenth period.”

“And you will take me to the boarding house?”

“Yes, I will introduce you to a mentor who will guide you for the first seven day period. She will take you to the club and show you around. Also, she will sign you up at the school that you will be attending.” Jan ot Weir now brought up the subject that had not been addressed the night before.

“That’s a lot.” Cami thought aloud. “I hadn’t thought about school.”

“There is a lot that you need to know.” Jan ot Weir replied. “I will tell you some now. We will talk while we eat.” The guardian sat back in her chair while they both opened the meal containers that they had brought with them for breakfast. “Lepus Mal is a city of twenty million and not all of them are good citizens, so you must be careful. Follow your mentors lead, you will be their responsibility for the first week, after that you are on your own. Try to make friends with the other girls, they can be a great help to you but again be careful, remember that they are also your competitors, they are also anxious to get a contract.”

Cami listened carefully as she ate. She had not thought about the other girls in the club. However she did had some recent experience of not good citizens so that was not a surprise. She continued to pay attention to Madam Weir.

“Remember your status is important. Keep working to improve it and you will be on the right track to a contract. I too was once like you, a girl looking for a contract. I got one, although it was not as good a one as I would have liked it got me improved status and a good position. Always be aware and when someone takes an option on your contract check them out and find out as much as you can about them. Don’t be shy about this, it is your future in question. You have to think for yourself.” Jan ot Weir sat back in her chair, looking rather fondly at the wide-eyed young woman sitting across the small compartment from her.

“Is there anything that you would like to ask me?” Jan said.

Again feeling overwhelmed, Cami shook her head.

“If you do, you must ask me now, we won’t see each other again after today, so don’t hesitate to speak up.” Jan ot Weir leant forward in her seriousness.

“Yes madam.” Cami replied. “It is just all so new, I don’t know what to think right now. I am sure that I will have more questions.” Cami smiled suddenly. “I hope that it will be while you are still with me.”

Jan ot Weir hid her own smile. This girl is really sweet, she won’t be around for long, she thought. “If you have a question, just ask it.”

Cami nodded in reply, then, the meal finished and both cleaned up, looked outside. “We are passing lots of buildings. When will we be in the city?” She wondered aloud.

“We are in the city but we won’t be stopping for another period or more.” Jan’s lips quirked, at Cami’s look of surprise, than sobered. “This is an older part of the city, don’t ever go there!”

“Does it have bad people?” Cami frowned.

“This is the area where the underclass live. It is called Nether West and they do not enjoy the presence of higher-class citizens. It is dangerous for anyone else to go there.”

“Oh.” Cami replied. “I see.” While she didn’t fully understand, she resolved to never go anywhere near that area however much the thought intrigued her. I wonder what it’s like there, she thought then caution surfaced, but I better stay away.

The train slowed, drawing Cami’s attention to the view outside. After a fraction, she turned back to her guardian. “We have slowed, Madam Weir. Will we be there soon?”

“Not for a period, Cami. The train just go’s slower close to the station.”

Nodding at the explanation, Cami turned back to the view, frowning at the depressing scenes of unkempt buildings with occasional glimpses of sullen looking people standing and watching the flyer going by.

This changed to gasps as the outskirts of the city proper came into view. Towers, taller than any the young woman had ever imagined appeared, crowding together into a glass and metal forest that enchanted the young woman. The terminal appeared as the flyer coasted to a stop.

Leaving the flyer was another revelation for Cami; the multitude of people that surrounded them as they left and headed towards the location where they could secure transport almost overwhelmed her. She hadn’t realised that the terminal also handled many local trains as well as the flyer. She froze.

“This way Cami, there is the transport waiting for us.” The calm voice of her guardian brought her out of her temporary paralysis. With a gentle hand, Jan guided Cami through the terminal to where the rental conveyances were. “See the codes, they tell us that this vehicle is waiting for us.” With a nod, she studied the symbols on the screen, hiding her embarrassment at her reaction to, what was for her, hordes of people.

“How do you know all this, Madam Weir, remember it all?” Cami wondered.

“When you need it, you learn it.” Jan ot Weir replied. “Also there are programs that help you learn and will assist you.” The guardian talked as she walked to the vehicle, called a personal conveyance transporter. “Your mentor will supply all this to you, but from then on, it becomes your responsibility. Now get in.” The pair took their seats.

As the vehicle moved away, Jan showed Cami the controls and how to operate them. Although she had never been in a transporter, Cami was quite familiar with comm controls and these were similar. She quickly understood the system.

It took longer than Cami expected for the conveyance to arrive at the Lepus Mal Central Home for Working Girls, usually referred to as The Center, but when they arrived, she was not disappointed. The home was located near the commercial district of the city and was, to her eyes, an imposing structure. More than thirty stories in height, it was the tallest building she had ever been in by far.

“Let’s get you signed in.” Jan said as they walked to the entrance. They went straight to the main desk and addressed the guard on duty, an older but still formidable looking man, women did not usually perform such duties except in designated areas. They did, however patrol the floors above the entrance hall while the male guards stayed at the entrance.

“Jan ot Weir, guardian for Cami sis Nep, who is under contract to the Trigon Club, to sign in.” Jan showed her identification and guardianship authority to the guard, then motioned Cami forward so that Cami could present her own identification and authorisation documents’.

The guard looked over the electronic forms, then nodded to himself. “Seems in order,” he said and entered a command on his comm unit. “Scan your implants here, the girl first.” He motioned to a reader.

This had been expected by Cami, as it was something they had to do at the start of each school year and were also scanned into and out of school every day. She stepped to the scanner and placed her forearm in the proper position. Jan did the same.

Now satisfied that the pair in front of him were who they said they were, the guard turned to a colleague who had joined them, this one a woman. “The girl is yours, new contract.”

“Okay, I will sign her in.” She waved at the pair. “Follow me.”

Although taking the necessary gene samples, face recognition pictures and iris scans was the work of just a few fractions, before it was completed a young woman had joined them.

“Greetings Madam Weir, I am Dara sas Feeder, I have been appointed mentor for Cami sis Nep.”

Looking at Dara, Cami saw a woman several years older than her. Dark hair tied back in a braid gave maturity to a pleasant face. She was dressed in the usual style of Ti Lepus which covered the person but still somehow failed to disguise the body underneath. Cami got the impression of a slender yet no longer youthful body. She also had the impression that, for all the surface politeness, there appeared to be some antagonism between the older and the younger woman. Cami wondered if this was a girl who had been assessed and received a contract to a salon but was never accepted by a patron.

“Greetings to you Dara sas Feeder, I remember you well.” Jan ot Weir indicated Cami who was now having her eyes scanned, the security officer having caught her attention with a word. “This is Cami sis Nep, your girl to mentor. We have just arrived and she is being entered into the security profiles.” The two stood in silence until the scanning was completed.

Now done, Cami stood up from the chair in front of the scanner and stood uncertain as to what she was going to do next. “Over here Cami.” Her guardian waved to her. “This is your mentor, Dara sas Feeder, she will take care of you now.” Jan pulled out her comm and pulled up a program. “Your implant please, Madam Feeder, for the transfer.”

Dara put her arm to the comm, a ring confirmed the acceptance of the transfer.

Her face blank, Dara waved to Cami. “Come and get your bag, I will show you where to go to get to your room.”

As Cami walked over, she turned to Jan. “Thank you Madam Weir for your guidance. Good day to you.”

“And good day to you, Cami,” Jan replied, struggling to hold her face blank.

*********

Walking down the street to the Trigon Club, Cami could not stop looking around at the city scenes. The tall buildings, some with brick or wood facades covering the lower stories were all new to her. Other buildings were not so high but covered a large part of the city block. Almost all were residential although there were some shops, mostly displaying food stuffs of various types along with some eating establishments as well. One that caught Camis eye was a clothing store that had a brightly coloured dress in the window.

The walk itself was a revelation, she had not expected that her new home would be so close to the club.

“The school is close by as well, it just makes everything more convenient.” Dara had told her. Dara had told Cami quite a lot, actually. Showing her where to sign into the buildings security system was easy. One of the guards had come with them and used her override command to confirm Cami’s identity. Cami then learnt that she could only go to the twenty first floor, one of the floors where girls contracted to the Trigon club were housed. The café where the girls would eat was on a lower floor and all those signed into the building could go there. Arriving, Cami next used her implant to sign into the room she had been allocated. She was disappointed to learn that she was to share the room with three other girls.

“There are thirty six girls like you on this floor, all in nine rooms so that’s four to a room. There is also a room for me and three other mentors on this floor which is one of three floors that the club has. Other clubs and other organisations also have rooms and their own floors, all girls, no men or boys allowed above the main entrance.” That last made sense to Cami.

“Any boys ever tried to get into the girls quarters?” She asked as they continued their walk to the club.

“On occasion.” Dara replied. She stopped and looked closely at Cami. “You must understand that not all people consider themselves bound by the rules of Ti Lepus. Some feel that the rules don’t apply to them and think that they are free to do whatever they want to. So be careful and keep your guard up.” She pointed. “Look, this is the street where the club is.”

Looking around, Cami realised that in the few blocks they had come, they had moved from a district with residential apartment blocks to one where there were a variety of stores, eating places and places of entertainment. All in the subdued manner of the people of Ti Lepus, at least on the surface.

Cami had wondered about this anomaly, the conflict between the strict rules of etiquette and both public and private dress that she had to abide by, contrasting with the existence of the clubs such as the one which she was about to enter. Unable to resolve the conflict between the two opposites, she put it out of her mind for the moment. I will think on this some more, it just doesn’t seem right to me but how can I deal with it and what it makes me do?

“Where do we go in?” she asked as they approached the club. “Through the front door?”

“No we have our own entrance. Follow me” Dara went past the main door to an inconspicuous side door. “Here is where you will enter.”

*********

Back in the Lepus Mal Central Home for Working Girls, Cami met her three roommates. They had been in school in the morning and early afternoon so they were to work at the club in the evening.

When Cami was given her schedule she learnt that she was to work the noon shift for most of her time with the evening shift rarely and only on the planets two days off. There were two days in the week when she would not be at the club, and these would rotate between the girls. When she asked if this would change, she was told that when schedules were made up, that generally stayed the same unless there was a need for rescheduling, generally when a larger than usual number of girls received a contract and left.

Two slightly older girls who were sharing the room took one look at Cami, realised that she was a serious potential rival for any contract and suggested, in the polite but blunt way of the planet, that she keep to herself. The third girl, who introduced herself as Nia ot Remma, came from a rural district just north of the city. Pretty of course, she was a pleasant and amiable girl and the two quickly struck up a tentative friendship.

Lying in bed that night, Cami thought over what she had learned that day. Dara was pleasant but formal, with all the information given in a strictly impersonal manner. Nia may become a friend, but that would take time.

Thinking back to the club, Cami remembered what she had been told about managing her time carefully. She would be in the club from the tenth period to the sixteenth period every day she worked. This meant that she would have to leave the Center at least a period before that, to allow time to arrive, get ready and make herself perfect for the customers. She also needed to remember everything that she had to do in the club, from all menus to clearing the tables. This had been made very clear to her by the Manager on duty who had shown her around the club. That had also been a revelation, the club being much larger than she had imagined, with several types of seating areas for the members. What the most difficult part was for Cami came when she was shown the club layout. The open appraisal of her by many of the women present almost had her cringing. But she steeled herself and followed the manager back to the private areas.

For Cami the changing area was also a shock. There were no private rooms and scantily dressed girls were coming and going with some changing, getting dressed and undressed in front of her. She wondered if she could be able to do this, never having had to change before in from of so many strange girls.

School was actually easier. For her it would run from the seventeenth to the twenty first period and the school was in the same block as the center. That meant that Cami could come in from the club, change into the school uniform and eat before going to the school. Her work load would be simpler as well, school work would concentrate on the core subjects and these would be spread out over the school week with only two or three subjects a day. So, while there would be more information per subject, this would be easier to deal with she thought.

At least I am here!’ Cami thought to herself as she laid in her bed that night. It’s all up to me now. I will succeed and get a contract! A good one! Unbidden, the words that her brother Tremma had spoken to her about the Dark Lord came to her mind. Why should I think of him, she thought? He is nothing to me. A smile came to her lips as her thoughts changed to the Dark Lord, the supreme ruler of the Empire, giving her whatever she asked for. Rolling onto her back, she considered the ceiling. What would I ask him for? She wondered. Status? Winning all my races? That nice dress in the shop window? With a shake of her head she dismissed those thoughts. If she got what she really wanted, they would all be irrelevant. “I want the freedom to be able to ask any question, speak my mind and go anywhere,” She whispered to herself. “I don’t want to have to display my body to high status women so that they will buy my contract.” She laid silent for a brief fraction. Did you hear me? She thought, of course you did, you are the Dark Lord and know everything! With a silent laugh at that pleasant thought she rolled over and went to sleep.