The Stars Down Under Read Free Page B

Sydney Boulevard was a wide avenue of shops, cafés, and office buildings, an eclectic mixture of old and new architecture. Foot and street traffic were both heavy. A redhead with a baby in a back carrier was standing nearby, her smile wide.
    Jodenny asked, “Noreen? Is that you?”
    â€œYes!” Noreen Cross threw her arms around Jodenny in an exuberant hug. “It’s great to see you! You look fabulous!”
    â€œAnd you look like you’ve got a baby on your back,” Jodenny replied.
    Noreen juggled the carrier a little. A chubby-faced baby in pink clothes gave Jodenny a wide-eyed look and waved a clenched fist.
    â€œMy daughter Emma,” Noreen said. “My second. She’s my best sweetheart.”
    Jodenny waggled her fingers at Emma, who responding by drooling. “Two? Already?”
    â€œTom and I want four. Tommy Allcot. You remember him, don’t you? He was in the class ahead of ours at the Academy. Big guy, soccer player?”
    â€œI remember.” Jostling pedestrians forced Jodenny to step closer. “How do you do it? Kids and husband and work?”
    â€œOh, I resigned my commission.” Noreen wiped Emma’s drool from her shoulder with practiced ease. “They let you, you know, if you get pregnant. I figure one member of Team Space was enough for this family, and I still get all the benefits of being a dependent.”
    The military word dependent was old-fashioned and politically incorrect. Jodenny was glad she didn’t “depend” on Myell, or he on her.
    â€œBut look at you, Miss Lieutenant Commander!” Noreen eyed Jodenny’s uniform with admiration. If she’d heard about Jodenny’s heroism on the Aral Sea and the Yangtze, she didn’t say anything. “Look at that ring on your finger. The girl who never dated. Who’d you marry?”
    Jodenny pulled her hand free. Her wedding ring was a single diamond, purchased in haste on Baiame. Myell had promised to upgrade it. “He’s in Team Space, too. Supply.”
    Baby Emma’s fists began to wave in earnest, and tears spilled down her cheeks. Noreen said, “You’ll have to come to dinner. Your husband and my husband, you and me—we’ll do a barbecue. We live in Adeline Oaks.”
    â€œSounds wonderful,” Jodenny lied.
    Emma’s wails grew in volume, and her face turned red.
    â€œWe’re off to her pediatrician,” Noreen explained. “Call me! I’m in the base directory!”
    With a wave and another hug, Noreen hurried off. Jodenny blew out a relieved breath and went up a flight of stairs to the monorail station. That Noreen and her husband lived in Adeline Oaks was an unfortunate stroke of luck. Myell was already uncomfortable enough living surrounded by officers. He’d never enjoy a barbecue with Academy graduates.
    A train was already on the platform. Jodenny found a cushioned seat, wedged her briefcase between her ankles, and scanned the news on her gib. The upcoming election for Fortune’s Parliament had turned vicious and cutthroat. Other candidates were vying for positions open in the Parliament of the Seven Sisters. The Prime Minister of Fortune was secure in his job for another year or two, but increasingly strident action by the Colonial Freedom Project terrorists was affecting his agenda. Though they hadn’t discussed it, Jodenny had registered with the Prime Minister’s Liberal party and assumed Myell had done so as well.
    A woman in a smart blue suit brushed by Jodenny’s knees, took the seat facing her, and murmured a question.
    â€œSorry?” Jodenny asked.
    â€œAre we going outbound?” the woman asked brightly. She had a broad accent, from somewhere in the north.
    â€œYes. Last stop is Killarney,” Jodenny replied.
    â€œExcellent. Thank you.”
    She carried no briefcase, only a small purse. Her shoes were expensive but practical. She wore her red hair in a