Lacuna: The Sands of Karathi by David Adams Read Free Book Online Page B

after the Tehran , aren’t we?”
    Oh, how Liao wanted to say yes. How she wanted to throw everything she had into the recovery operation, to hunt down the Tehran and find James safe and well. To explain to him that he was going to be a fatherand to hold him in her arms once again.
    “Not immediately,” she admitted, forcing her tone to be as neutral as possible, “although the missing ship is on our medium-term agenda. This mission addresses slightly more immediate concerns.” She took a breath. “All will be revealed in short order. Briefing room, 0900 tomorrow morning. Don’t be late.”
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    Captain Liao’s Quarters
    TFR Beijing
    Just before the briefing
     
     
    Grunting, Liao pulled up her uniform pants, sucking in her belly and pulling them up with both hands.Try as she might, the garment–size eight female, the same size she’d worn her entire career – would not slide past her slightly larger hips. She was now two months along, and her body was beginning to adjust itself to the small but growing life inside of her.
    Her breasts had swollen and become tender, but a simple bra replacement had solved that. She wasn’t sure if anyone had noticed, although hers were always small to begin with. Perhaps, in a way, the crew had subconsciously seen her body's changes as a return to what might be seen, in this day and age of skinny, mega-breasted superstars, as ‘normality.’
    But the pants were another matter, and there was no easy way to fix the problem. Eventually admitting defeat, she let them fall to her ankles and kicked them away. Liao put her hands over her belly, sighing. She closed her eyes, letting her fingers trace her no longer perfectly flat stomach, Doctor Saeed’s words echoing in her ears.
    You won’t be able to hide this forever…
    A surge of anger came to her then. Maybe she could continue to serve throughout her entire pregnancy, or maybe she couldn’t. That was nothis decision to make; it would be one made on herterms, nobody else’s, and she would not let the mere fact that she was pregnant stand in the way of what she wanted to do.
    She was pregnant, not crippled.
    A press of her radio and a few words summoned the ship’s quartermaster to her room. Red-faced, she explained to him, with careful phrasing, that she’d been gaining a little weight lately–Doctor Saeed had insisted she eat more to recover from her injuries – and she had found the routine hard to break, so a size ten uniform would be a more appropriate fit. She was careful to make it clear that this would be temporary, and she knew that she was setting a bad example for the crew, but her injuries made it difficult to exercise.
    She was nonspecific as to exact nature of her 'temporary condition,' but thankfully, probably due to her rank, he did not ask.
    Liao wasn’t sure she convinced him, but it did not matter.Five pairs of size ten pants found their way into her cupboard, and five pairs of size eights were returned to the stores. The replacements were a much more comfortable fit, although as she looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t help but feel the mask covering the truth was a cheap one and that if someone looked too closely, her disguise would not hold.
    It would stay strong for a little while, though. The future was the future, and what would come would come. Saeed was right. There was no sense worrying about it. Liao made a point of fetching the string of pearls from her desk.Staring at her reflection, she gingerly placed them around her neck, tucking the long string underneath her uniform and making sure it could not be seen.
    A gift from James, one that was against regulations. She could not wear the necklace openly–that would set a terrible example for the crew, and she hated being a hypocrite–but they were a special gift. Apart from the fetus growing inside her, the pearls were the only physical reminder that James was ever hers.
    Liao’s secrets were mounting and she, just like the slightly