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This fetus cannot be brought to term It cannot be a fruit of the human tree No human could accelerate its own fetal development No huy No hu the womb We must abort it or kill both e, Shiprecords

WAELA SAT on the edge of the cot in the obstetrics alcove they had i with the wounded out in the eency area He had not even noticed her leave his side Supply crates screened her area and she sat in the fabric-diffused shadows, taking shallow breaths to slow the contractions

The prediction of Hali’s pribox and her own inner voice had been correct The baby was going to be born on its own schedule and despite anything else that

Waela leaned back on the cot

I’m not afraid Why am I not afraid?

She felt that a voice spoke to her from her womb - It will be as it will be

The quiet was broken by a babble of voices and another rush of footsteps into the medical shelter How many batches of the wounded did that make? She had lost count

A particularly hard contraction forced a gasp from her

It’s time It’s really ti slide, unable to get off, unable to change a single thing that would happen This was inevitable, growing froondola

How could I have stopped that? There was no way

"Where’s that TaoLini woman? We need her help out here"

It was Ferry’s faered to her feet and ency area of the shelter She paused in the entrance as another contraction gripped her

"I’lanced up fro celltape to a wounded E-clone

"Soo outside and decide which people are ency treatment I don’t have time"

She stumbled toward the exit

"Wait" The bleary old eyes focused on her "What’s wrong with you?"

"It’ I’" She clutched the edge of the treatment table, looked down at a wounded E-clone

"You’d better go back and lie down," Ferry said

"But you nee"

"I’ll decide what has to be done!"

"But you sai"

"I changed my mind" He finished with the E-clone on the table, looked down at the bulging eyes which protruded from the corners of the clone’s teo outside and see that I get the worst cases first"

She shook her head "He doesn’t know anything abou"

"He knohen so Don’t you?" Ferry helped the clone off the table, and Waela saw the burn splash across the ht shoulder

"He’s wounded," Waela protested "He can’"

"We’re all wounded," Ferry said She heard hysteria in his voice "Everybody’s wounded You go back now and lie down Let the wounded take care of the wounded"

"What will yo ?"

"I’ll be back when I’ve finished with this lot The" He leered at her, old yellow teeth "Maybe a baby You see? I’m a poet, too Maybe you’ll like le up her spine

Another burn victi feantic eyes Ferry helped her onto the enaled a clone froure clumped in, held the wounded woman’s shoulders

Waela turned away, unable to look at the pain in the woman’s eyes How silent she was!

"I’ll be in soon," Ferry called as Waela left

She stopped at the fabric closure to the rear of the shelter "I can tend to hed "Hali, sweet bloo woman, TaoLini, and this is your first baby Like it or not, you’ll need me You’ll see"