Page 40 of Devin
And that’s when Val discovered that there were only a few Mahdfel on the planet that had unlimited replicator privileges. Kave had given Jane and Meadow unlimited access and Devin got them as an architect, so it had never occurred to Val that the replicators were keeping track of who ordered what. All this time, when the wives had been asking her to fetch things, it hadn’t been out of a sense of being helpless, or wanting to make her feel useful. It was not wanting to use their own credits.
It didn’t bother Val much. Perhaps it hadn’t quite sunk in yet that relatively speaking, she was now one of the richest people on the entire planet. What could it get her besides free drinks and outfits that she wasn’t very clever at choosing?
Val signed up for an outrageous number of boxes on the spread and sent Georgia away happy. The other women were being more cautious with their credits.
“So, what did he say?” one wife asked, offering Meadow a padded chair after she came back from the medical suite.
“Healthy,” Meadow replied.
“And?” All the wives stared at Meadow as if trying to suss out any little clue.
“Green?”
“But when?”
“Sometime in the next three weeks.”
“That’s what he said about Humility.”
“And that’s what he’ll say about Jane.”
“How do you feel about it?”
“I’ve never had a baby, much less an alien baby, so your guess is as good as mine. Seriously.”
“But you’ve got to have some opinion on the matter.”
“Meadow,” Val spoke up. “Can I borrow your expertise for a minute?”
Meadow nodded and stood up. The pair stepped outside.
“What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you needed rescuing?”
Relief flooded Meadow’s face.
“I mean the pool gives them something to do, but it would be so much better if they would just leave me out of it. I mean couldn’t they just start a book club? A book club I could totally do. I was a librarian, you know.”
“I don’t believe there’s anyone in my quarters right now.”
“Yeah, I need a nap. Can you head off Jane before she gets swarmed?”
Val shook her head and took up a hopefully non-obtrusive post outside the med suite. Jane came out shortly.
“Unless you want the third degree from the ladies over there, I’d suggest taking a nap,” Val suggested.
Jane just rolled her eyes and headed toward ops. She motioned for Val to follow along. “I’ve got a lot more stamina than a lot of these guys and a lower bullshit tolerance.”
The sound of the shuttle landing caused Jane to change her direction. By the time they got there, it had settled and Odetteand Athen were disembarking. Zenik followed close behind, his eye firmly on Jane. Odette flashed a big smile at Val and Jane.
“Val! So good to see you again. And Jane, I’m so glad I’m past that stage,” she said, staring at Jane’s large belly.
“How’s Junior?” Jane asked, cracking a wry smile.
“It’s a little weird being here without him. Clover’s keeping an eye on him for me, but I still feel like I’m missing a limb. How are things?”
“As well as can be expected,” Jane said.
