The liner didn’t usually divert its route, but for the illustrious Dr Samuel Nazir they were willing to make an exception. It wasn’t that much out of their way, and he was paying.

“The shuttle can drop you at the house, doctor,” Captain Shu said, her hand on his arm.

“Thank you, but the town will be fine. I always like to see a person’s environment. It can help with my work.”

“Of course.” She smiled, and he knew she was flirting, just a little. She’d made her interest very plain when he walked on board, but her position stopped her from actually coming out and saying it.

“And I am grateful,” he added, throwing her a morsel. She was quite striking, he had to admit, with her thick dark hair caught in a severe knot at the back of her head, her black skin glowing. In another life he would have let her know he was attracted to her, but he’d given all that up when he became a therapist. In a way it had ruined relationships for him, letting him see all the games and the subterfuge beneath. Except in Celia. And now she was gone, it was just easier to be celibate.

“I’ll arrange for a hover to take you, if that would help.”

“Most helpful.” He grinned, and her eyes sparkled.

Now he watched Lazarus speed by, his eyes scanning the horizon. For a planet this far from the Core, it was rather pretty, even though the trees were still bare. In a month there would be a green haze over everything, but he rather liked this sparseness.

His reflection caught his eye, flickering as they passed by a stand of what looked like oaks. A long face, sensitive, his skin a smooth olive colour. He blinked, and his alter image blinked too, dark eyes that held depths he used to get under the skin of his patients. His lips curved as he smiled. Far too introspective, he told himself, reaching up to tighten the tie around his long black hair. And perhaps he was getting too old for that affectation too, he thought. Still, there was time, and at least he wasn’t losing it.

The hover set him down at the edge