Star Bound Liberty (Complete)

Chapter Seven

I woke the next morning with a fright after having had a nightmare that I quickly forgot. I spent a few moments breathing in deeply, trying to calm my erratic heart beat. I collected my clothing for the day and bathroom caddy and stepped into the bathroom. In the mirror, I could see that Ayms had grown again. He was now flattening out along my spine, both directions. I couldn't see any other changes biologically, and endeavoured to read through all the Mossie research that I'd given the Doc.

Everyone on Omicron B grows up learning all about the history and sciences, both social and biological, of the Mossie plant sentient beings and their mammoth tree habitats and I was no exception. I knew of the obvious physiological changes; the skin and hair pigment changes, the Mossie growth, some sort of non-verbal communications between each Mossie human hybrid pair. There were a few other things that I'd learn about first hand, but mostly it was going to be a steep learning curve.

It wasn't until I was in the shower that morning, feeling a sense of elation come over me that I began to realise that the Mossie on my back really was his own person. He loved water. Thrilled at the wet liquid running over his hide and caused the tingling along my spine, the tightening and loosening of the little dorsi muscles down my back. And it occured to me that he was probably discovering new things about himself as well.

I dried off and got dressed. Or at least I tried to. Under ware and pants fit fine, it was getting my bra to fit that was a problem. Especially the straps across my back. I didn't know what do to about them crossing over Ayms without hurting him. And my shirt buttons were threatening to pop undone. I couldn't have put that much weight on in two days, but Ayms would account for much of the tightness across my back. I undid it all, took my bra off completely, threw on a white tank top and put my shirt back on again. It wasn't a great solution as my shirt was staying together at the front, but I might be able to find something to keep the buttons together in medical.

While I was brushing my teeth and hair, I remembered that every hybrid on Omicron B wore open backed clothing so their Mossie simbiot could breath without obstruction. I turned around in the bathroom mirror and realised I'd need to make adjustments with my uniform as well. More changes ahead.

I finished with a little bit of lip gloss and colour for my eye lashes. Being that close to the mirror made be realise that my eye colour was changing, from their natural brown to a soft hazel. Wow, those changes are coming along fast.

Breakfast was an awkward affair. I had to sit ramrod straight in my chair while trying to eat my bacon and eggs. I wasn't the most well endowed woman in the fleet, but I had a pair that really couldn't go without proper frontal support. Bacon and eggs were a real treat that morning, but the coffee was terrible. I skipped it figuring that I could probably find a cup in medical.

By the time my shift started in the medbay, I was feeling really self-conscious and a little icky in the tummy.

'Morning Moss. How'd you sleep? Get through all of that orientation material OK, yesterday?' Chief Medical Officer Brandson was too cheery for my liking.

'Coffee.' I grumbled, ducked into the staffroom and poured myself a cup. I found the Doc in his domain, putting all the supplies away with Sonya's help. She was out of a medibed and back in uniform.

I spent the morning restocking supplies, marking everything against the manifest, and having a look at what was wrong with one of the medibeds in triage. The power box had shorted. I replaced it from the spare parts in the storage supply, and put the whole thing back together, just in time to clear the area before breakfast made a surprise revisit.

I managed to throw up in the patient toilet, thank goddess, but Doc took note and pulled me into the exam room for my daily check up.

'You seem a little under the weather this morning, Private. What's going on?' I squirmed a little.