Relda opened the heating appliance and removed a tray of loaves. It struck her as odd. In eight months she had gone from a hardened inter-quadrant thief to a tender mother of five. She patted her swollen abdomen. Soon she would be a mother of seven.
"Girls!" She called across the living quarters. "Dinner is ready."
The floor shook. Little footsteps made rapid progression toward the kitchen.
"What's for dinner?" Daly asked.
Relda gripped her stomach as a sharp pain shot through it.
"Nutrition…nutrition loaves," she stammered as her world swayed before her.
She felt a tap on her shoulder. Annika frowned down at her.
"Are you okay, Mama?" She asked.
Relda managed a slight nod.
"Your sisters. Coming."
She waved at the nutrition loaves.
"Take," she gasped. "Find Raylay."
She focused on the comm device hanging on her wall.
"Nurse Rhiannon," she said. "Call Nurse Rhiannon."
There was a squawking sound, and a gentle response from the other end.
"Relda?" She said.
"It's me," Relda moaned. "Going into labor early."
"Coming to get you," Rhiannon said.
The needle Rhiannon used to start Relda's IV was larger than normal, but the pain of labor drained her energy. Her mind blurred. She squirmed, but lacked the strength to resist.
"Are they okay?" Relda moaned. "The twins."
"I hope so," Rhiannon admitted. "I don't have time to get an ultrasound right now. We're taking them out with an emergency procedure."
Relda's worries dissipated as sleep overtook her.