Delicacy Pt. 1

With "Delayed" almost finished, I decided to post the first part of my take on "Delicacy" by KomperaKlause. This is one of my all-time favorites. 

Be on the lookout for the next installments of "The House Boy" and the conclusion of "Competitive" soon! 

Delicacy Revisited

Part One

Tyler was a somewhat low-hanging language officer in Stamford; a junior lieutenant. Still relatively fresh into his career, not all that long ago, he'd hoped to one day be the captain of his own vessel. Unfortunately, Tyler no longer saw that in his cards…

Presently, he was doing his best to keep his head down and stay to himself as much as possible as he tried to figure out his next move. While his job consisted of mostly desk work, there were the occasional off-ship missions as well.

Translating for his superiors was cardinal on diplomatic missions as the fundamental purpose of Starforce was exploring new worlds and forging alliances along the way. While his rank was low, as a language officer, Tyler's role was often key, onboard or off the ship.

“Please, for the love of gods, tell me you've heard something! Anything!” Fah groaned from his station behind.

Tyler took out his earpiece and craned his neck back to offer his friend and fellow language officer a bored frown and shrug. “Still nothing. But no news is good news, right?”

“No news is boring as fuck! I'm taking a break,” Fah replied with a sigh as he stood and left the wing, its metal doors sliding silently shut behind him.

While his friend obviously wasn't, currently, Tyler was fairly content with things being “boring as fuck.” Living on a spaceship, traveling through galaxy after galaxy at hyperspeed, was exciting enough for him most of the time though occasionally, it had its downsides.

Enrollment in any division of the intergalactic military was typically always long-term, missions more often than not being for the long haul as well. On top of that, members of Starforce often lacked downtime… Even when not on shift, given the close quarters on the ship, superiors were often around, leaving Tyler (and everyone else) with little to no privacy. With space onboard geared towards function over comfort or entertainment, it wasn't as if he could go take a peaceful, private walk or get away from others whenever he wanted to.

But most of the time, it wasn't alone time the junior officer desired. Yes, he wanted his freedom, but more so, companionship, which is where Tyler's troubles began.

After three years in Starforce, he found himself in need of a reprieve from the synthetic environment of his ship, as well as the constant professionalism expected of him. As such, during his most recent planetary outing a few weeks prior, on a peaceful world called Glork, Tyler had somewhat purposely loosened up over the free weekend. As it would turn out, he let things get too loose…

Tyler had joined some of the ship's other officers exploring the planet's capital city, fraternities with some locals while indulging in libations. Doing so had been fun. Too much fun Tyler now noted as he looked down at and cupped the rapidly growing curve forming at his lower belly.

So far, he'd managed to keep his condition a secret, but given the rate of his growth, knew he wouldn't be able to much longer. Tyler's pregnancy wasn't strictly human… As such, it was progressing rather quickly. When (since if was out of the question) his condition was discovered by his superiors, Tyler would most certainly be stripped of his rank, dishonorably discharged from the force and possibly, face jail time.

It went without saying that once he was found out, he'd never work for Starforce again in any capacity. Hell, he probably wouldn't even be allowed on a ship of any flag for any extended period of time, taking him all the way back to square one, his career down the drain.

Despite there being only one foreseeable outcome, Tyler didn't know how “best” to reach it? There'd be no explaining his way out of it as sexual relations while on missions were strictly forbidden. The many intricacies of various alien cultures were simply too expansive (and sometimes just unknown) to allow for such indulgences, to say nothing of the potential political ramifications that could arise from such. Starforce members were better off bedding one another, though that was easier said than done and if accomplished, still frowned upon as well.

In hindsight, all of this made a lot of sense. Male human pregnancy was exceedingly rare, even between two humans, and there weren't many (known) other species out there that could impregnate a human man either, maybe only three at best?

Seeing as Tyler had only “coupled” once during his current mission, with a Glorkian, one of the few species capable of “doing the deed,” when, where and how he'd conceived would eventually become obvious. Realizing he'd soon be without a job (not that he'd even need one if he ended up in jail,) even though he and the Glorkian, whose name he couldn't remember from their inebriated one-night stand, Tyler began reading up as much as he could on the paternal laws of what might eventually end up being his new home planet, even if just by default.

Much to his dismay, he wasn't able to find much information on the matter. What he found, Tyler understood even less of, despite being an interplanetary linguist. Though a Federation member, Glorkian culture was just so esoteric. As such, Tyler wasn’t sure if it was entirely legal he’d left the planet in his condition, and/or what the repercussions could/would be for doing so, causing him more worry and concern. Thanks to one fun and enjoyable, but admittedly stupid mistake, he’d become a (if not, the) prime example as to why Starforce had so many rules and regulations, and why it was so important they were followed.

Since his coupling with a sexy, purple-hued humanoid had turned him into a “mother-to-be,” Tyler reasoned he might be welcomed back to Glork? He hoped so because he did not want to return to Earth. Gods… The thought of it was so painfully domestic to the junior lieutenant (not that pregnancy was much different,) who already had no intentions of ever setting foot on the backwoods pile of rock he hailed from if he could help it.

Returning to Glork seemed his best bet but in the meantime, things remained far from resolved or close to being rosy. There was something Tyler had managed to learn about Glorkian reproduction that had troubled him… Glorkian reproduction tended to be… quite productive. Pregnancy was quick and typically yielded many offspring. Litters, to be precise.

He wasn’t sure if that would apply to him, since humans (mainly females) typically had just one baby at a time. Multiples were a possibility, but much less common, especially in males, so Tyler had that going for him. Maybe..?

Honestly, he had no idea what any of this meant for him as his gender typically didn’t have to deal with this sort of… situation. Regardless, Tyler knew he still had to come clean with his superiors and would be better served doing so before his condition gave itself away. Time was running out, but for the moment, he remained too terrified/mortified to tell his truth just yet.

Seeing how quickly and steadily he was gaining weight as the pregnancy advanced at its rapid pace, he knew he was lucky no one had noticed yet. Just weeks in, Tyler was already beginning to show, as indicated by the increasingly pronounced curve of his lower belly. Already, he was having trouble buttoning his pants… Tyler was beginning to get fat. Too fat for Starforce, making him all the more surprised he hadn’t been spoken to yet. All it was going to take was another inch or two of growth and then it would be obvious he was pregnant since he wasn’t all too big a guy to begin with.

Another inch or two of expanding, and his secret would be out, whether he was ready for it or not. Tyler didn’t want to think about it and yet it was all he could.

Fortunately, he didn't have to any longer, at least not for the moment as one of the transponders on his console began to beep. Brows furrowing, Tyler put his earpiece back in and got to work adjusting various knobs and small levers for a clearer transmission feed.

“What is it?” Fah asked as he hurried back in.

“A beacon,” Tyler replied quietly over his shoulder. “An… emergency transmission. Notify the captain right away.”

*****

The transmission had come from a small planet called Zuls, which sat just outside of Federation territory, but with whom Starforce had relatively amiable relations. Rather they had, back when communication between the two had been more regular…

“Apologies, Captain,” Tyler said as he stood on the deck where he'd been summoned. “I tried everything I could, but I just can't clean up the transmission or get a strong enough signal through to understand the exact nature of the message.”

“My guess is famine,” Commander C'drru said. “We warned the Zulians of the dying star in their solar system twenty years ago, which for some reason, seemed to offend them,” he rolled his single, large eye. “Hence the lack of recent communication, I suppose. They still have a century or so before things should get really bad, but now's about the time when drought would start becoming a more prevalent issue. That all being said, the Zuls have always been somewhat resistant to alliance-based aid, so…”

“Maybe they've had a change of heart?” Captain Frisk, the only other human aboard aside from Tyler, suggested. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Before the Commander had a chance to respond, another communications specialist piped up. “Captain, I just want to make sure you're aware that we can't send a signal back to base from here. There aren't any satellites out this far,” she explained. “No relays or allies as well for what it's worth.”

“And, Sir…” a young pilot chimed in. “If the Zuls are in need of supplies, we don't have much to spare and we're a good three months away from the nearest post to restock.”

The handsome Captain nodded. “I appreciate everyone's concerns, but the fact of the matter is we don't know what the Zulians want or might need, so let's find out. I'd like to land and do some reconnaissance.”

“Showing up unannounced and relatively empty-handed might not be the best idea, Captain,” C'drru was quick to point out, as was his job.

“That's true, but we can't just ignore the Beacon or make assumptions when we can't be sure what's going on down there,” Frisk said as he gazed out into the space hanging in front of them, noting how particularly small and unassuming Zuls looked all alone out there in the middle of it.

It could've easily been mistaken for a larger planet's moon, but it was not such. Its bright maroon color, coupled with the glow of the dying star behind it, made the tiny planet appear as if it were on fire. If it was experiencing a bad enough drought, some of it might actually be…

“Prepare for landing.”

*****

Tyler and Fah were two of the three language officers selected to disembark with the away team, who aside from a few security personnel, were largely unarmed, per the Captain's orders. Frisk had no intention of presenting himself and his crew with any air of animosity, nor did he want to antagonize an already potentially difficult situation.

Some half an hour later, the ship was on the ground. Throughout the landing process, the communications team had tried again and again to clean up the beacon as well as send out a message of their own announcing their impending arrival, but neither worked. After not having received a reply to their message, Commander C'drru strongly suggested to the Captain delaying dismemberment till communication had been established, but Frisk continued to feel differently.

“We go now,” he said as he took his place at the front of the group.

A moment later, the ship's large rear hatch began to open. As soon as it did, all hell started to break loose.

“Sir! All comms just went offline!” C'drru said as he frantically worked the buttons on a nearby control panel.

“Electrical systems are malfunctioning, Sir! All!” Another officer suddenly called out. “Central computer is going into safe mode!”

“Get it back up, NOW!” Frisk demanded.

“It's my top priority, Sir!”

“Captain! Engine four is registering damage! Obviously the ship's been compromised! We need to abort the mission!”

Frisk rapidly nodded in agreement as he opened his mouth to give his next order. Before any words came out, it was already too late. With the rear hatch open and the central computer continuing to transition into safe mode, all the Captain could do was watch as a horde of reptilian-like aliens began pouring onto his ship, hissing out orders in a wispy language similar enough to Polumium for Tyler to understand most of their commands.

“What're they saying, Lieutenant?!” Frisk barked at him as four of the aliens approached and encircled him, their weapons drawn and aimed at him.

“They're telling us to… to move out,” Tyler replied weakly as his right hand instinctively went to his belly.

*****

The junior lieutenant survived the initial purge of the ship's personnel. Tyler couldn't say for sure how many of the crew were left but he was fairly certain it was just himself, Fah, an engineer named Sree, and Captain Frisk. The only other human wasn't looking all too captain-esque as of late…

After just a couple days of being a prisoner, Frisk was already in quite bad shape. Every morning, he'd been dragged from the cell they all shared by armed guards, then returned in the evening with more wounds and bruises than he'd left with.

After a week, the guards finally stopped coming for him in the mornings, but probably only because the Captain had barely been conscious for the last two days. Tyler seriously worried how much more the other man would be able to take before he became the crew's latest casualty, but he had more than that to worry about…

He, Fah and Sree had been tasked with performing manual labor all day, every day, and some nights as well. Much of their time was spent in a large scrap yard, salvaging metals, including some belonging to their own ship. Other times, they were forced to toil in the now largely barren fields of a struggling industrial farm, a result of the drought Commander C'drru had correctly predicted. When there, they were made to dig through the parched, fallow earth in search of viable soil, which more often than not, ended up being a pointless endeavor and a complete waste of time and energy.

Like its sun, the planet Zuls was also slowly dying. Already, most of its inhabitants were notably gaunt, weak and desperate. If and when Tyler and the other survivors were given something to eat, it was always just scraps and always stale and/or rotten, barely fit for consumption, which is the only reason it had been given to them.

Given his condition, lack of good and/or sufficient food, and all the hard, manual labor he was forced to perform, Tyler constantly alternated between waves of dizziness and fatigue. Never did he complain though (out loud, anyway) and he always did his best to keep up. With all the stress and hardship he was facing, he was very surprised to find himself still somehow growing, his belly in particular.

Incredibly, its growth hadn't even been slowed. Glorkian offspring (even half breeds) seemed to be relentless, which Tyler took to be a good thing and yet simultaneously nerve-wracking. For a brief time, sad as it was to admit, he thought his formerly only problem might end up “taking care of itself,” but it hadn't yet and as such, he was starting to get strange looks, not only from his cellmates, but the Zuls guarding them as well. And yet still no one said anything…

Late one evening, before what remained of the “local” Starforce contingent drifted off on the dirty floor, all achingly tired and literally starving, Tyler caught Sree staring at his now bulging abdomen with her big, owlish eyes. Instantly, he folded his arms over it and averted his gaze from hers, not knowing what else to do or say?

“The Federation will find us,” Sree said after some time, before turning away and settling in for another restless, yet never quite long enough night.

Her pregnant cellmate wasn't so sure. No one knew where they were  and by now, they'd likely been presumed dead. A rescue attempt wouldn't be worth the risk or expense with so little to go on. It seemed the time had come for them to accept their fates.

It was an admittedly stupid and pointless hope, and honestly, the very least of his worries now, but before driving off in his dusty corner of the cell, Tyler mumbled to himself under his breath, “I just wish I'd stop growing…”

*****

Though windowless and beneath the ground, the musty, dusty cell was somehow never completely dark. It was oddly spacious, indicating that at some more prosperous time, it had probably accommodated a far greater number of prisoners. Now, it only held Tyler, Fah, Sree and Captain Frisk between the beatings he still occasionally received.

Tyler didn't understand why the Zulians had gone back to torturing the other man, but assumed it had something to do with their resentment of Starforce and the Federation as a whole. Whatever the reason, Frisk was suffering the most out of all who remained, even more so than Tyler, whose pulse pounded loudly in his ears each time the door to the cell swung open.

The junior lieutenant looked blatantly pregnant now. The stares from his comrades had notably increased and still, not one of them said anything. More importantly, neither did any of the Zulians, nor did they bother him any more than they did the others, the Captain unfortunately, not included… In the Zulians slanted eyes, Tyler was still just one of their prisoners. For now, anyway…

As soon as his condition eventually came to their attention (which it all but surely would,) he knew it wouldn't be good. Tyler couldn't say for sure as to why, he just knew it wouldn't be. As such, he was constantly terrified and felt as though he was living on increasingly borrowed time.

Anxiety was getting the best of him and despite how exhausted he always was, he could no longer sleep. Tyler could now only doze for short periods of time before he'd end up gasping awake, always more afraid than he'd been before barely drifting off.

Increasingly burgeoning midsection aside, the rest of the pregnant lieutenant's body had started to change as well. Despite the constant physical work it was forced to perform, and the continued lack of food, it was getting softer. It was also still somehow getting notably more plump.

As a result, Tyler's clothes no longer properly accommodated him, and not just his top in the front… Unable to button them, he now had to keep his pants “closed” using a piece of rope he'd found while scavenging, and no matter how much he tugged and/or yanked at it, his belly now bulged out the bottom of his top.

Once this became the case, it wasn't long before the guards started to more closely scrutinize him… Tyler's belly was too big to conceal, especially while constantly bending over and straightening back up again and again as he worked.

One afternoon, while he was out in a blazingly hot, barren field, doing more pointless digging, his stomach suddenly lurched and grumbled loudly. In an “all human” pregnancy, it would've been far too early to feel any fetal movement, but Tyler's pregnancy was half alien and he was all but certain he was carrying a litter, so despite everything, his pregnancy continued to rapidly progress.

A few mornings later, Tyler woke to yet another change… Sometime over the course of the night, as he drifted in and out, two damp spots had formed on his shirt at his chest. Nipples stinging, it didn't take long for him to realize he'd started to lactate.

Tyler, a man (albeit a pregnant one,) was now producing milk. Before anyone else noticed, he quickly folded his arms over his chest, wincing from the pressure, then wincing again when he realized that in hiding his mess, he'd caused his shirt to ride up more, further exposing his pregnant belly.

He just couldn't seem to catch a break. How or why he thought he might with the odds so stacked against him, he didn't know? It made no sense, not that much of anything did any more…

Tyler leaned forward, hoping doing so would help, but it didn't. Of course, it didn't. When he looked up, he noticed he'd attracted attention, not only from the usual offenders, Sree and Fah, but this time, from the Captain as well.

The other human stared at him through swollen eyes, his formerly handsome face now almost unrecognizable due to how battered, bruised and swollen it was. Even though he was incredibly embarrassed, Tyler was also very happy to see Frisk finally awake and somewhat alert.

“Sir!” He quietly said, giving the other man a small smile as he straightened himself, forgetting for a moment just how awkward his body had already become.

The Captain was far from the picture of health and vitality he'd once been… He was slumped over, barely upright over in his dirty corner. The man Tyler had so looked up to (and crushed on) for the past few years, now looked like a feeble, battered shell of his former self; weak and broken.

Frisk opened his dry, bloody lips and tried to speak, but only managed to produce a hoarse cough. He was sick, injured and starving. Maybe even dying..?

All of a sudden, Tyler realized he could help. He had milk.

Before he could mentally talk himself out of it, he stood on shaky legs and slowly approached. As he did, he tugged down the collar of his dirty, ruined top, freeing his left breast. Yes, breast…

Though Frisk's eyes were both almost swollen shut, they still gave a look of surprise as he opened his mouth again. Whether it was to protest, or because he was willing/needed to consume some of his human, male subordinate's breastmilk, was left unknown… Before the Captain had the chance to do either, the door to the cell banged open and Tyler jerked back.

The Zulians had returned. Two guards stormed into the cell, the rest staying outside the door, but leering in. As the guards approached, it quickly became evident to Tyler that this time, as he stood there with his plump, left breast exposed, he was their intended target…

He was correct. Ignoring the Captain, the guards headed directly for him. As they did, the young language officer instinctively dropped to the ground in fear and defeat, only to be yanked right back up by his arms onto his unsteady feet by the armed aliens, one of which he'd never seen before.

“I needed to sssee for mysself if the rumorsss were true and indeed, they appear to be…” the alien nodded as he eyed Tyler up and down. “Tell me, human, how are my men and I all sssstarving, while you, a prissoner, grow fatter and fatter?” He demanded as he blatantly eyed his breast.

Other than to let out an inadvertent, audible gulp, Tyler remained silent as all of the guards continued to visually assess him for several more excruciatingly long seconds. Finally, one of them, still out in the corridor, spoke.

“We sshould bring it back to the palace!” He suggested. “Sssurprise, Sserse with it!”

“Excellent idea, comrade!” The “new” alien, evidently in charge, agreed with a nod as he took Tyler by his left arm and started moving him towards the door. “I ssshall of course have to claim it as my own!” He chuckled, causing the other Zulian to hiss and frown.

“NO!!!” Tyler screamed, kicking at the dirt floor as the two aliens dragged him along against his will. “Not without my friends!!!”

Another guard hissed loudly. “Ssstupid humanss and their friendss!!!”

“Their pathetic excusse of a leader iss human too… Nowhere near as fat as thiss one, but sstill… Sserse might appreciate if we bring him along too? Maybe we will be rewarded?”

The aliens’ discussion came to a stop as their commander turned back to look at the crumpled, pathetic forms of their other prisoners. All of their dirty faces were staring up at Tyler and the lizards flanking him, the looks in their eyes ranging from terrified to pained and (more than) slightly disoriented, though Fah's seemed to give the impression he might prefer to stay in the cell, even if doing so left him alone.

“Take them all!” The commander decided as he gripped Tyler's arm tighter and began dragging him towards the door again. “Whether or not we're rewarded, we'll find usses for them.”

Until he was positive the other guards who stormed into the cell had followed their commander's order, Tyler continued kicking and screaming. Once he saw over his shoulder that what little remained of his crew were also being dragged to their feet, he calmed down a bit, though he wasn't able to stop himself from crying.

A change was undoubtedly coming. Whether or not it would end up being for the better, remained to be determined..?