Page 20 of Pirate By Parrot

“I am worried.”

“It will be fine, Ves. Tomorrow, the mood will turn to pain, and that is easier to deal with.” She chuckled. “And then we have a reprieve, and it will happen again.”

“Oh. I will contact Zanican for advice.”

She snorted and headed for her room. “Contact whomever you like. I am going to lie down.”

Mel felt the internal self-pity hitting her in waves, and she curled up under her light sheet and turned the lights down.

“Mel, it is time for your meal.” Ves’s voice was calm.

“Not hungry.”

“You are still growing. You need to eat.”

She mumbled, “If I stop eating, will I stop growing?”

“No, but you will end up in medical jacked full of supplements, and you will miss your chance to walk on an alien world. The Veth don’t generally allow visitors, but I think this will be good for you. They have made an exception for the two Terrans on board.”

“Annabelle and Marko?”

“Just get up, Mel. I know you feel terrible, dark, and weighed down, but it will pass.” Ves paused. “Please.”

She groaned and sat up. She was hungry, thirsty, and dark. She felt the darkness in her all the way. The thin sheet flipped to one side, and she slowly stood. The first thing she learned was that standing fast was a tremendous error.

Mel put on her shoes and walked to the food dispenser area. Annabelle was sitting, and Marko was shifting nervously on her perch. Mel went to the dispenser, got her trays, and sat at the table. She started to eat. “How long was I out?”

Ves said, “Eighteen hours. How are you?”

“Awake.”

Annabelle smiled. “Ready to see your first alien world?”

“Sure.” She ate the food and bused her table.

A med bot trundled in, and a cuff snapped around her arm to hold her as an injector pressed to her abdomen, and then, it did it again on the other side, through her suit.

“Ow. What was that?”

“Hormones. Suggested by your avatar. They should assist so that you are able to interact with the avatar and his mate.”

Mel grunted. “Great. I will be in the lav until we land.”

Ves indicated, “That was mentioned. We are in the system and will be near the station in two hours.”

“Great. I will try and purge quickly.”

She headed for her bathroom quietly, stripped out of her suit completely and proceeded to get very ill for an hour and a half. Progesterone was a bitch.

When she was dressed in a dark silver compression set and had brushed her hair out, she was feeling a bit better, and the mood was lifting slightly.

When they met in the cargo hold, Marko sat on her shoulder and rubbed her head and beak against Mel’s temple.

“Don’t suck up to me. You know what you said.”

“Oopsie daisy!”

Annabelle jolted. “Wait, she’s fully sentient?”

---