Page 145 of Stars in Umbra
Mo glanced down at her hand, still folded over his.
Still, his reservations, some so old and warped inside him, began to creep in, and he sighed.
RINA
Rina moved away from Mo, back to her station, where she pressed her palm to her head.
She took an inhale as the anti-nausea medication she had taken took effect.
She’d bought them, with discretion, from a pharmacy in New Rambasa before they’d left.
The biliousness settled, at least enough for her to move without that tight churn of sickness behind her ribs.
However, the butterflies remained.
Not in her stomach but in her chest, throat, and her damn heart.
Last night, while Mo slept beside her, she gave herself a talking-to, facing her fears and doubts head-on.
It helped her shift from selfish ‘me’ thinking to reflecting on her little one.
The paradigm change was significant and calming.
She had also found a first mum’s site on SysNet and was trying to absorb as much as she could about pregnancy.
She wouldn’t decide how to proceed until she was informed 100% about what was coming.
She sliced a discreet glance at Mo, sensing his reticence.
He was too quiet and brooding.
He sat in the shadowed alcove beneath the viewport on the ops deck of the Corvette, his gaze fixed on the estate far below.
His worry about the operation pulsed through him.
It manifested in the pulse of his golden sigils, the furrow of his brow, his tense shoulders, too-careful breathing, and the slight tic of his jaw.
She understood his concern and hoped he would not be too hard on himself if things went wrong, and that he would trust her to be by his side.
Minutes later, Rina padded into the Corvette’s internal med bay, the soft whoosh of the door sealing behind her like a pact.
Her fingers flew over the touchscreen, keying in an override code obtained via Kainan, given her seniority in the UGM.
A privacy shield pulsed around the room, no data in, no signals out.
Not even Mirage was able to penetrate it.
She slid onto the diagnostic chair and rolled up her sweatshirt, revealing the swell of her belly.
It was still too early for a bump, but her body was different, softer and rounder, as it created room for this precious treasure within.
The ultrasound panel activated with a hum, the scan wand gliding across her skin with practiced precision. In seconds,the screen flickered to life, grainy at first, then clear, detailed, impossibly vivid.
‘Oh my,’ she murmured. This was her child. Her baby.
The device beeped with stats.
Each one confirmed the fetus was healthy.
