Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,13

the ship when Veral first returned to the room, but they were both woken at ungodly hours as the animal attempted to break back into the room, not once but multiple times. The sounds were both monstrous and pitiful, but after a while, when Veral made it clear he wasn’t letting the dorashnal in, Krono trailed off to find something else to occupy himself with until morning.

Though she felt bad for Krono, Terri appreciated that Veral didn’t just hover on the flight deck the entire time as she half-expected him to do. It was a huge concession when she knew that the presence of the strangers on the ship drove his protective instincts wild.

She understood, but enough was enough. She couldn’t spend another moment trapped in the room all day. She needed to get out, and besides—she’d been craving! There hadn’t been any cravings in the initial months of her pregnancy, but she had been struck by such an intense need for something that, when it didn’t go away, she had to search it out.

She was so damned hungry!

Terri knew he wouldn’t approve of her slipping out during midday, but she was still following his rules. She tugged the hood on and smiled down at Krono, who stared up at her, his mouth gaping in an expectant dorashnal grin, his vibrissae relaxed against his neck as he watched her for any cues.

“Shall we go play with the replicator, Krono?” she asked her companion.

His mouth gaped wider, and he whined with excitement. He was fully on board.

Humming under her breath, Terri headed for the galley. Slipping inside, she stilled as she watched the two pink Blaithari standing with their heads bent in close, whispering as they filled their trays and a third. Their nostrils suddenly flared and both heads came up and turned toward her, gold eyes gleaming.

Terri felt a jump in her belly at the intense way they were staring at her. She would have run right back out of the room if she hadn’t reminded herself that she was wearing robes. Of course they would be curious. Veral had informed her that he circulated a story among them that she was horribly scarred from a cargo fire so that they wouldn’t be suspicious if they happened to see her. Still, it did little to settle her nerves as she gave them a polite nod to acknowledge their presence before scampering by them.

Both males immediately backed away, their eyes darting down to Krono, who stared at them, his ears turned alertly in their direction.

Watching them out of the corner of her eye, she frowned at how massive the aliens were. From Veral’s description, she was expecting small, slender males, not ones who were—despite being close to the height of an average human male—packed solid with muscle. Granted, they likely looked small and unthreatening to a male Veral’s size.

They were clothed in beautiful swathes of fabric, but as they slipped by her, she couldn’t hold back the shiver of dread that ran through her. They looked at her just a little too carefully, a little too long for her comfort.

She turned her gaze back down to Krono to find him still staring at the empty doorway, his vibrissae whipping around him. His head angled up to stare back at her, and she let out a small sigh. Dropping her hand to the top of his head, she scratched him behind the ears and smiled.

“Just nerves, that’s all,” she whispered. “Now let’s get something to eat.”

Terri stared at the food replicator, uncertain of what she wanted. She grimaced at some of the selections as she scanned through the holo-menu. Agami worms, steamed tirichi—a large beetle-like insect—in a mendak egg sauce. She gagged as she bypassed a large selection of Argurma delicacies. No insects… Hell no. She may have been hard up enough on Earth to survive on a regular diet of reptiles, but she couldn’t stomach eating insects.

Finally, she came to the wrapped scourra and sighed gratefully. Scourra was a livestock animal that tasted a lot like what she imagined beef once did. She didn’t know for sure, outside of a few questionable old cans of beef stew, but it was close. There was also a kind of noodle made of some sort vegetable smothered in a rich, spicy, nutty sauce. She licked her lips, making a few more selections as she scrolled through. There was no way in hell she was going to be able to eat all that… Maybe. It