Read Online Kris Longknife 13 - Unrelenting by Mike Shepherd - Free Book Online
Authors: Mike Shepherd
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a reason for the visit.
Doc Meade didn’t keep Kris waiting. She arrived in full professional mode. “Tummy problems, huh. You ever had this before?”
“No, and I only have it in the morning,” Kris said, and removed the pregnancy test from her purse.
“Hmm, I knew one of those had gone out. I figured it couldn’t be for Abby. I should have figured that only Nelly could jigger my system.”
“Thank you,” Nelly said.
“Blue, huh?” the doc said, looking at the test results, then asked, “Your last period?”
“Fifteen days ago. Scanty as to be nearly nonexistent.”
“And I take it that you and Jack are still acting like newlyweds?”
“Horny newlyweds,” Kris said.
“I didn’t know there were any other kind,” the doc said with a smile.
“I had my implants replaced last month,” Kris said, fingering the three lumps on her arm.
“Yes,” the doc said, looking at her med reader. “Right on time. Those things have about one failure in a million.”
“It would be a bitch if I was that millionth,” Kris said.
“You can’t be the millionth,” Doc Meade said. “We’ve had three pregnancies reported in the fleet this week. One the week before.”
Kris frowned. “Once may be an accident. Two is bad luck. Three or more is enemy action,” she quoted the old military axiom.
“We’ve got something just like that in the medical profession. Well, let’s get some blood work and see if that test is accurate.”
Kris waited while blood was taken. It was sent off to the lab with no name on it and a Rush, we want this five minutes ago note.
It was back before Kris and the doctor could adjourn to the office.
“Yep, you’re the fifth pregnancy in the fleet. I wonder how many more we’ll have.”
“This is going to be a problem,” Kris said.
“Between you and Jack? He does want kids?” The doctor paused. “Oh, do you want children?”
“Of course I do. I mean, yes, I think.” Kris sputtered to a halt and frowned. “I really hadn’t given a lot of thought to it. I had the implants. We’re out here with a fight coming at us every second of the day or night. Kids were something to think about later. Maybe. I guess.”
“You and Jack did discuss kids before you married?” the doctor asked.
Kris thought long and hard. “I think we may have missed that part.”
“So, you’ve got a lot of talking to do tonight,” Doc Meade said.
“And I’ve got a fleet to run with five pregnant women in it, including the Admiral Commanding.”
“Hmm,” the doc answered. “It is a discharge offense to remove your implants and get pregnant without authorization.”
“So, where does that leave us five? Did any of us have our implants removed?”
“Not a one.”
“Have you studied these implants? Did we get a bad batch from the factory?”
“I don’t know. What with you pregnant, I’ll need to remove the implants. You’ve got enough hormones coursing through your system without tossing in more.”
“Do you keep track of these implants? Is there any chance that we can identify the bad batch and get them out of fleet distribution before there are too many more of these ‘little surprises’?”
“Let’s get you back to a room and see what we can see.”
Five minutes later, Kris was lying down on a table with an anesthetized arm. A nurse was standing by as Doc Meade removed the first implant. “Get me the number on that joker.”
The nurse put the strip under a magnifier and read out a number.
“Hold it. That batch was issued three years ago. Maybe more. That number has got to be wrong.”
Doc Meade did her own eyeball check. “Damn, that’s the number.”
With a frown, she went back to Kris’s arm, made a second small incision and withdrew the next implant strip.
The nurse eyed the strip, and turned to the doctor. “This number is not in sequence with the first.”
In a blink, Doc Meade was looking over the nurse’s shoulder. “Double damn,” she
Doc Meade didn’t keep Kris waiting. She arrived in full professional mode. “Tummy problems, huh. You ever had this before?”
“No, and I only have it in the morning,” Kris said, and removed the pregnancy test from her purse.
“Hmm, I knew one of those had gone out. I figured it couldn’t be for Abby. I should have figured that only Nelly could jigger my system.”
“Thank you,” Nelly said.
“Blue, huh?” the doc said, looking at the test results, then asked, “Your last period?”
“Fifteen days ago. Scanty as to be nearly nonexistent.”
“And I take it that you and Jack are still acting like newlyweds?”
“Horny newlyweds,” Kris said.
“I didn’t know there were any other kind,” the doc said with a smile.
“I had my implants replaced last month,” Kris said, fingering the three lumps on her arm.
“Yes,” the doc said, looking at her med reader. “Right on time. Those things have about one failure in a million.”
“It would be a bitch if I was that millionth,” Kris said.
“You can’t be the millionth,” Doc Meade said. “We’ve had three pregnancies reported in the fleet this week. One the week before.”
Kris frowned. “Once may be an accident. Two is bad luck. Three or more is enemy action,” she quoted the old military axiom.
“We’ve got something just like that in the medical profession. Well, let’s get some blood work and see if that test is accurate.”
Kris waited while blood was taken. It was sent off to the lab with no name on it and a Rush, we want this five minutes ago note.
It was back before Kris and the doctor could adjourn to the office.
“Yep, you’re the fifth pregnancy in the fleet. I wonder how many more we’ll have.”
“This is going to be a problem,” Kris said.
“Between you and Jack? He does want kids?” The doctor paused. “Oh, do you want children?”
“Of course I do. I mean, yes, I think.” Kris sputtered to a halt and frowned. “I really hadn’t given a lot of thought to it. I had the implants. We’re out here with a fight coming at us every second of the day or night. Kids were something to think about later. Maybe. I guess.”
“You and Jack did discuss kids before you married?” the doctor asked.
Kris thought long and hard. “I think we may have missed that part.”
“So, you’ve got a lot of talking to do tonight,” Doc Meade said.
“And I’ve got a fleet to run with five pregnant women in it, including the Admiral Commanding.”
“Hmm,” the doc answered. “It is a discharge offense to remove your implants and get pregnant without authorization.”
“So, where does that leave us five? Did any of us have our implants removed?”
“Not a one.”
“Have you studied these implants? Did we get a bad batch from the factory?”
“I don’t know. What with you pregnant, I’ll need to remove the implants. You’ve got enough hormones coursing through your system without tossing in more.”
“Do you keep track of these implants? Is there any chance that we can identify the bad batch and get them out of fleet distribution before there are too many more of these ‘little surprises’?”
“Let’s get you back to a room and see what we can see.”
Five minutes later, Kris was lying down on a table with an anesthetized arm. A nurse was standing by as Doc Meade removed the first implant. “Get me the number on that joker.”
The nurse put the strip under a magnifier and read out a number.
“Hold it. That batch was issued three years ago. Maybe more. That number has got to be wrong.”
Doc Meade did her own eyeball check. “Damn, that’s the number.”
With a frown, she went back to Kris’s arm, made a second small incision and withdrew the next implant strip.
The nurse eyed the strip, and turned to the doctor. “This number is not in sequence with the first.”
In a blink, Doc Meade was looking over the nurse’s shoulder. “Double damn,” she
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