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Page 1 of Pirate by Parrot (Terran Reset #9)

MEL LOOKED TO HER LEFT as she moved slowly into the gazebo, where her guest was already seated. “Why don’t you just die already?”

Marco squawked, “Why don’t you just die already?”

Mel grinned. “I am trying; I am trying.”

She coughed as she laughed. Bloody flecks were caught in a tissue and stuffed into her pocket with the others.

“I would shake your hand, but mine is gross. So, what can I do for you?”

“Do you remember signing up for the Volunteer Project a few decades ago?”

Mel nodded and coughed into a fresh tissue. She wheezed. “Yeah. That ship sailed with a thud.”

“What would you say if I offered you another chance? We have need of people like you for specific assignments.”

“I am not going to last long enough to get out of the atmosphere, let alone into deep space.”

She pressed her teeth together as she chuckled, and Marco chortled.

“I am sorry for not introducing myself. I am Minerva-Gaia. I am currently running the Volunteer Program. Well, we are referring to it as the Terran Reset Program for now. We need you for a very specific assignment on a very specific world.”

She sipped at the water glass that her niece had brought out. “You like the word specific.”

Minerva grinned and rubbed the back of her neck. “We need you. Your genetic makeup will be ideal for being remade into a young, healthy giantess.”

Mel paused. “What the actual fuck? I am already six foot two with emphysema and lung cancer.”

“Smoking?”

“Waitressing. I had to wade through the smoke day after day with no reprieve. They could have a cigarette and leave, but I was stuck as dozens of smokers lit up at the same time.”

Minerva nodded. “I understand, but your life expectancy has pushed you to the front of the line for urgency, so we contacted your match, and they are willing to take possession of you as soon as possible.

“Wait. Match? Are you running a mail-order bride service?”

She laughed, and Marco chuckled along.

“Yes, and no. We are using tech that can rebuild you and reset your biological clock in an effort to build ties with worlds we would otherwise have no chance with. One lady is fireproof; another has strength that would be the envy of any comic book hero.”

“And I am to be a giant if I agree?”

“Your genes predispose you to height; we just have to build up the mass and get you ready for a new gravity.”

“More gravity?”

“Less.”

“Oh, so... less gravity, more height? Interesting.”

Minerva smiled and said, “As I was saying, your illness would be eradicated and your lungs made whole again. You would be younger, taller, and given all the energy and dexterity of youth. Getting used to your new dimensions would be accounted for, and your new wardrobe would fit your new body. A financial arrangement would be set up so that at no time will you feel obligated to your new intimate situation, but you would be required to pick a partner from your new world. The idea is to check to see if altered Terran genetics are strong enough to carry on a new line.”

“Wow. Just putting it out there. So, why me?”

“Why me? Why me? Whiney beggar.”

Mel looked at the bird. “What do you know? As soon as I am gone, they are going to put your patchy ass to sleep.”

He squawked and flapped at her. “Mouthy bitch!”

She grinned, and Minerva stared. “That’s your bird?”

“It was my brother’s. He’s passed, and his kids don’t want poor Marco.”

She smiled and sighed. “He used to ride on my shoulder, but since the coughing has kicked up, it freaks him out.”

Minerva looked thoughtful. “What if you could take your bird?”

Mel stared. “What?”

“You could take him with you. He would be reworked and given a new lease on life so that you wouldn’t be out there alone.”

Mel looked at her splotchy bird and then at the woman in the gracefully designed armoured suit with a gauzy long vest. “What kind of clothing would I end up with?”

“The Cekkaro dress like this.”

A projection of a male with a silky tunic, leather pants, and a sturdy build was suddenly in the middle of the gazebo.

“What about the ladies?”

“They don’t have them. They went to a cloned population a few hundred years ago and are now suffering from clone collapse.”

“Oh, the copy factor.”

Minerva nodded. “Yeah. So, you would be welcome to design your own wardrobe or just dress like the dudes.”

The reference made Mel laugh, and then she coughed.

“Why don’t you use a mask and tank?”

“Why prolong things? I am a huge fan of getting things over with, and I have already lived far longer than my doctor guessed at.”

Minerva nodded. “Fair enough.”

“If I say yes, when can I go?”

“Get your things in legal order so that all heirs are accounted for, and I will pick you up in hours.”

“Done. Already done. You can’t live like this and not take care of things. My niece gets it all.”

“Excellent. Well then, I will just offer you this contract. It outlines what you are volunteering for and what we will provide you with, including security.”

She took it and signed it.

Minerva gasped. “Don’t you want to read it?”

“Nope. Die here, or die there. I am up for a change of scenery as long as I can bring Marco along.”

“A second contract involving Marco is being prepared, and my assistant will be in with it momentarily. The addenda will be connected to your contract.”

“You have minions?”

Minerva laughed. “Yes. My husband makes sure that someone has my back at all times.”

“Is he as snappy a dresser as you are?”

Minerva chuckled. “More so. He’s running a few of the other Reset ladies into space. You are going to be our test with a new contractor.”

Mel chuckled. “Sounds like fun. Do they get a bonus if I am delivered?”

“They do, but all healing and alterations are going to happen on the Lunar Base. We don’t trust them with the tech we are using or the extremely rare genetic samples we are pairing.”

She smiled. “You will be spending a lot of time with my daughter. Alyla.”

Mel smiled. “You have a daughter?”

“Yes. She’s going to be an only child in all likelihood. Imbolt is a bit much on the genetic scale and highly radioactive at close range.”

“At least he’s warm.”

Mel chuckled.

There was a squawk. “Hot as fuck!”

Minerva stared at the bird. “He has quite the grasp of language.”

“My brother ran a strip club. It was a competition to get nasty phrases to stick. I don’t even hear them anymore.”

She smiled and then coughed wildly and slowly sucked air in as blood bubbled out. “Your timing is incredible.”

Mel looked at the other woman as her vision straightened, and things came back into focus. The grey was fading more slowly with every massive seizure. Not really a good sign.

“Get off your knees, bitch!”

She flipped her bird off and leaned back in her chair. The delicate fan-back framed her, and she could see her skin was flushed and grey at the same time. She wondered what season her colour palette currently was.

She leaned back in the chair and got her breathing under control.

Minerva looked at her. “May I help?”

“What are you thinking?”

“Well, Gaia would like you able to survive the trip to space, so I need to put in a patch of some sort.”

“Will it hurt?”

“You don’t like pain?”

“Nope. But I can deal. I just like some warning so I can plan my epithets.”

She wheezed.

Minerva smiled and got up, pressing her hand to Mel’s chest, lining it up with the bronchial pathways and filling her lungs with a soothing warmth.

Mel breathed in slowly, and a tear trickled from her eye. “Thanks for that. I didn’t think I was going to make it to the shuttle.”

Minerva stroked her hair. “You have done a lot in your life. Server, ambulance driver, combat medic, and back to server. You have lived a life and touched many others.”

“I got around.”

Mel leaned back with her eyes closed and just breathed. She heard motion by the door and opened her tired eyes.

A man in an astonishingly fitted business suit came toward them with another tablet. He frowned when he saw her, but it was a worried look. She gave him a thumbs-up. “So, am I signing for me or the parrot?”

He smiled. “For yourself. The parrot will sign first.”

Minerva took the tablet and went to speak to Marco. The woman’s eyes were glowing, and Marko bobbed his head in excitement. The tablet was held up to line up with the bird’s eye, and there was a bright scan. The claw came out next and pressed into the tablet.

Minerva, with glowing eyes, smiled as Marko flapped excitedly.

She turned toward Mel and said, “My little feathered child is excited. She dreams of the stars.”

Mel sat up. “She?”

“Yes. She. She likes you very much and wants to continue as your companion, so hers was a companion agreement for emotional assistance.”

“Wow. Marko, I guess you need a name change.”

Minerva turned back and then smiled. “She likes Marko. It has been her name all her life. If you want to change it, just add a syllable.”

“Markona is as far as I will take it, Marko. Promise.”

The bird bobbed excitedly and flapped as she screamed.

Minerva nodded. “Now, this is a companion agreement for you so that she is registered to you and you alone until either of you pass on. She is being adapted to all environments and will even be able to fly in space if necessary. She will be, in your parlance, the sturdiest fucking bird in history.”

Mel started laughing and held her hand up. Marko glided toward her and climbed up to her shoulder. They nuzzled together, and Marko began to groom her hair.

Minerva smiled. “There are creatures that have been designed for this kind of a response, and I think this is what they are shooting for. Calm caring.”

“Will the alterations hurt Marko?”

“No. We are using the same tech we are using on you. Marko will grow slowly and with balance so that flight is never in danger.”

“Oh, good.”

She took the tablet and read it. It was basically swearing that Marko would be with her until death. “Yeah, we always knew that.”

She signed it, pressed her thumb, and stared at the optic scanner. She handed it back to Minerva and handed both tablets to her assistant. “Link and upload them to the archive. I will help Mel and Marko to the car.”

He blinked. “You are going with us?”

“I am. She requires immediate assistance without notice. I am equipped for it, and I want to hug my daughter.”

“That is why you wore your suit.”

He chuckled.

“Correct.”

She held out her hand to Mel. “Come on, Melora, Marko, your future awaits.”

Mel put her hand in the slim woman’s and accepted the help. She called her lawyer and told him to transfer all of her assets to Pria. She got one hug from her niece and spoke quickly to her, explaining what was happening. All assets were hers to keep or dispose of, and Mel was taking Marko to space. It sounded crazy, but it was all summed up.

Mel looked at Alyla over the breathing apparatus they had fitted to her until her alterations started kicking in. They normally did that kind of thing in transit, but she was a special case, and so was Marko.

It had been a month in the tank to reset her body, and now she was working through the genetic fusion.

She smiled. “Hey, Alyla. How are things going?”

“Well, I have come to announce that your lungs are good, and you are ready to start walking around in the cargo hold.”

“The hold?”

“You have outgrown the med bay.”

Alyla grinned. “Mom will be impressed.”

“Do I need the mask?”

“Can you breathe comfortably without it?”

“Yeah.”

“Take it off.”

Alyla grinned. “We have a transport tank that will work on your density. You are really coming along. Hell, you are taller than my dad.”

Mel looked at Marko’s perch, and her buddy was preening her new silvery feathers. She had quadrupled in size, and that was the point where Mel figured out that it was in her future, too.

She slowly removed the mask and hung it up. She could breathe just fine, but she snored. The mask helped.

She slowly stood up and now towered over Alyla. “Well, my admiration for your mother just increased.”

“Why?”

“Because I have seen pictures of her with your father, and I can tell you that I feel terrifying.”

Marko flew to her shoulder and settled. The loose trousers and tunic flowed around her as they walked to the cargo area that had been blocked off and turned into an apartment.

“Aw, this is so sweet!”

Alyla grinned. “It is the least we could do. I know that you felt every ache and pain as you grew.”

“Pain lets you know you are still alive. I don’t like it, but at least I can move on my own now.”

She chuckled. “Your mom is on my holiday card list.”

Marko chirped for permission and took off in the enormous and vaulted space.

“We are also working on a suit that will compete with your growth.”

“Split it into trousers and a top, put stretch zones along the seams, and make the top into a butt-covering tunic so it can rise up.”

“Any decoration?”

“A fancy sash to make it feel fun. I wear a fucking parrot, after all.”

Alyla chuckled. “I saw the sketches you have been making. They are hilarious.”

“Woo fucking hoo! Out of my way, jerkass!”

Marko was doing barrel rolls, her silver feathers gleaming.

“Ah, I can fall asleep to that.”

She chuckled and enjoyed not wheezing and hacking afterward.

“We are trying to ship you out and are building a canister for the final development and density issues. You won’t get too much taller, but your final density is going to require reinforcing your bones and strengthening muscle attachments.”

“Really? I thought I was going to a lighter gravity species.”

She frowned.

Alyla blinked. “Mom said she was going to tell you. They fell through, so your genetics were offered to Skevarik. They jumped at the chance, so to speak, and you are now destined for the Nyal Imperium.”

“Oh, right. I remember something of my final form not being certain for one species. Uh, so, I need different language lessons.”

Alyla nodded. “This is why I wanted to get you situated here and started with a light exercise regimen. We don’t have a trainer your size, but we will make do.”

Mel chuckled. “I was never good at yoga, but I was great at basic training.”

“Interesting, and we will take that under advisement. First, we need to get you some clothing and shoes. The shoes are the rough part.”

“Yup. I can imagine. Sandals will be a good start. Everything should be wrap and tie capable until I finish growing.”

“Yes, ma’am. Are you good here?”

“Yup. You said, Skevarik?”

“Yes. They are giant heavy-worlders.”

“Oh. Great. I thought that didn’t happen.”

“There are exceptions to everything, and that includes genetic design.”

Alyla smiled. “I am one, and you are one, so why not others?”

“See you for checkers?”

“Three hours and counting. I just have to send some things off and make a few calls, but hopefully, I will come bearing snacks and a change of clothing for you.”

“Cool. Where is the dispensing unit?”

“Next to the large display. How is your dexterity?”

“Better since I filed my fingernails.”

She looked at her nails.

“We need a mani-pedi night.”

“I don’t know if you have enough polish.”

Alyla grinned. “We have industrial acrylic. I can make it whatever colour I want. See you in a few hours.”

Mel looked around at her long bed, a stand for Marko, along with food, water, and treats, and a couch. It was a step up from medical, and she looked at the open space around the temporary wall and started doing push-ups and jumping jacks to start getting used to more powerful limbs.

She had been prepared to go all light and airy, but now, she was going to be a thudding monster. She could deal with that.

Marko flew around and shrieked curses until she settled on the wall to watch Mel working out.

ALYLA LOOKED AT THE monitor showing Mel’s activities, and she was growing by leaps and bounds. Her body was under her control, and she wasn’t suffering from the altitude. It was glorious. She had gotten genes from one of the last Skevarik queens. There were other females, but they weren’t what Alyla was looking at. Mel was a warrior in every move, and her body wanted to continue its progress.