The Human Bearer

"Are you worried, Master Rio?"

"Worried doesn't cover it, Kyle," Riordan replied as they navigated the maze of hallways Tu'lek was. He had gotten used to it already, and he had Kyle with him so he had no fear of getting lost. Others things were bothering him. "What do you think of Cario Hamen?"

"He is one of the good guys, as you'd say, Master Rio," his bot offered courteously.

"Yeah, that's what I think, too. Only that he's not like the rest of these dolls. He's pretty damn smart."

"Not every human bearer can captivate his Xeno master the way he did," Kyle said.

"Damn, you're getting wiser by the day. Do you remember how you told me about that thing with the contract Xana made me sign with my DNA, that it's like a marriage contract?"

"Of course, I remember. Unless my memory is destroyed, I will always remember everything."

"Not the point, dude. Ah, don't tell me you're making fun of me."

"A bit, yes. But everything I say is true. And Master Xana secretly searched for information on the bond Earthians create between themselves when they decide to become a couple and spend their lives together."

"Secretly?" Riordan asked with a snort.

"That was his intention."

"Nosy bot," Riordan said under his breath and smiled. "This whole business with Gamni Gafilos is bad, not gonna lie. I have no idea what to expect. I know you weren't made for combat or military strategy, but what do you think Gamni's chances are, when it comes to taking over Tu'lek?"

"I don't have sufficient data--"

"Right."

"But I can tell you the following. Tu'lek is a ship that comes equipped with the latest weapons, so a direct confrontation will certainly lead to severe damage and with a high probability of casualties."

"On both sides?"

"Particularly on the side of the attacker," Kyle explained. "The way Tu'lek is built, the living quarters cannot be damaged unless most of the ship is already overcome by enemies."

Riordand munched on his lower lip and began thinking. If what Kyle said was true, and it had to be because his bot always worked with facts, that could mean that they were supposed to expect a different type of attack. "Wait," he said slowly, "does that mean that they might try to infiltrate the ship like last time?"

"That would be the sound strategy on their part, yes," Kyle confirmed.

A wave of uneasiness moved through him, accompanied by cold chills down his spine. Riordan glanced around as if he was expecting enemies to jump at him from every corner.

"The high commander has upgraded the defenses since last time. No authorized Xeno can gain access to the ship now, unlike last time," Kyle continued his explanations.

"That's reassuring," Riordan mumbled. Yet somehow, he didn't feel that assured.

***

It was late in the night, according to the time Kyle measured with his bot-like precision, that Xana returned to their quarters. Riordan had fallen in and out of sleep, his mind plagued by nightmares of Gamni Gafilos -- an enemy without a face -- coming to take over Tu'lek and kill everyone.

"How is everything?" he asked sleepily.

Xana covered him head to toes with his muscular snakeman body. "The ship is well protected, Riordan."

"Okay. Wait, isn't this the time when you tell me that everything is going to be alright?"

Xana's silence was only getting more unnerving with each passing moment. "I have learned lately that you cannot easily be fooled, Riordan. So, I will tell you how things are."

"I'm listening." Xana seemed to be taking his time. Hopefully, not to serve him any more lies.

"Gamni Gafilos is the most accomplished general Xeno has given to our world. He was in charge of taking over Earth, and his military campaign was a tremendous success."

"So, he practically made us eat dirt. But wait, how old is he? Like Marn's age?"

"No, younger, but all his life has only been war."

Riordan pondered over the questions he needed to ask. "If he was the guy to conquer Earth, why is he so much against human bearers?"

"Earth was supposed to be just like all the other planets we conquered. No one prepared us for meeting a species like yours."

"Wow. I mean, Gamni had no idea what the consequences would be, right?"

Xana kissed the crown of his head and pulled him close into his arms.

"No. You are very smart, my beautiful bearer. The general believed that we would use you just like we had used dozens of other species across the galaxies. There was no reason for him to think that things would stand otherwise. Encountering your species was seen, for a while on Xeno, as an anomaly."

"Anomaly. Yeah, I suppose that it does feel like that."

"It wasn't His Royal Chancellor's opinion."

"What did Marn say about the whole thing?"

"At first, he lent his ear to the general, in whom he had the utmost confidence at the time. You must understand, Riordan, when these things happened, I was yet to be born."

"Right, of course." It was difficult to think that these guys weren't already eternal. But Earth had been taken over less than half a century ago, in human years, of course. And since then, a lot of things had happened. Riordan felt suddenly small and insignificant. However, as he touched his large belly, his thoughts changed. That was important, the life growing inside him, a beautiful Xenolite almost ready to meet his parents.

"Turning Earthians into bearers was a long process, compared to other species. We've been drawn to your beauty from the beginning," Xana continued. "You see, before Earth, we've never encountered another species to be so like us."

"You mean the upper part of the body?" Riordan asked and turned to look into his master's beautiful eyes.

"Yes. You see, you call us half-snakes, but we call you half-Xenos."

"Right, it's how you look at things, right? And how did that change things?"

"Xenos are, by genetic makeup, designed to put their eggs inside the most adaptable hosts. The pleasure of the act was almost non-existent. We go through a great deal of pain to transfer the egg into the one that will nourish it until it is ready to be born. We used to. The reason why our bodies produce so much seth is to alleviate such pain."

"And that also makes you so good fighters, right?"

"Yes, that is correct," Xana confirmed. "But you changed everything. Before you ask, yes, even before, we used copulation with other species for pleasure, but it wasn't common. Our entire willpower and desire was sublimated into the need to conquer planet after planet."

"And then you met us, and you realized how awesome fucking is?" Riordan asked.

"Only three brothels existed on Xeno before conquering Earth. They contained several species which we considered reasonably attractive for copulation, but the ones frequenting them were very few. That was one particular industry that knew a tremendous growth in size once we got to know you."

"Damn. So we really are that irresistible to you. Go figure." Riordan had known that, of course, Xana had made it very clear to him ever since he had set foot on Xeno, but it still felt like an incredible revelation to learn that they were so compatible with this strange species of conquerors of galaxies.

"Yes, you are. We've grown increasingly sensual because of you."

"Yeah, you fucked like a one hundred dudes before me," Riordan said and pouted for show.

Xana snickered and moved one hand to cup his balls. Riordan inhaled sharply as his ball sac was manhandled. It was enough for Xana to touch him and he was ready to go. And he couldn't blame it on the approaching birth date. Except for all that wetness between his legs -- that was because of his pregnancy slowly reaching its term.

"Are you jealous?" Xana teased him and licked his ear.

"I bet jealous is another Earthian term that doesn't suit you," Riordan replied and glared at his handsome owner, who had a triumphant look in his eyes.

"Of course. Why would it suit me?"

Yeah, right. Riordan had a mind to remind Xana of all the drama with Lewis's Xenos and later, with Kanto, but he bit his tongue and kept his mouth shut. They had other, more important things on their mind right now.

"Tell me more about what Marn did once he realized how good in bed we are," Riordan said and pulled Xana into a deep kiss just to one-up him.

"Your actions tell me that you would rather postpone our conversation."

"Then listen to my words only. I want to know what kind of strange mess we're in. This is the world in which our little guy's going to get born."

"You love him, too, don't you?"

Xana stared at him with tenderness in his alien eyes. Not so alien. Their faces were just like human faces, maybe much more beautiful and more serene, but still, so similar that Riordan couldn't help wonder what tricks of natural evolution could make such creatures and bring them over to Earth from the vast spaces of the universe.

"I do. More than I love myself. And even you." Silence fell between them, making Riordan uneasy. "You're not going to get jealous of your own son, right?"

"No," Xana replied. "He is not only mine, he is me, an extension of myself into the world. It pleases me to hear you that you love him so much. Your Earthian emotions make you unique."

"Let's not get into another debate about feelings," Riordan chose to say. "I'd rather learn more about what happened with the general and Marn."

"His Royal Chancellor put Gamni Gafilos in charge of the human bearer program at first. And the results, in the beginning, were disastrous."

"Those humans and Xenolites died," Riordan said as he recalled the conversation he'd had with Xana at the time when this species had been nothing but a mystery to him. "I bet Marn wasn't pleased."

"A way of saying, and not the correct one. I believe, in Earthian terms, you would say that he was furious."

Marn Savier, with his dignified posture, calm eyes, that barely there smile... furious? That was one image Riordan couldn't wrap his head around. He looked like a guy who could barely get upset, and even that was a stretch.

"The general fell out of favor," Xana continued. "His Royal Chancellor decided to be the one in charge of the program, and by doing so, he began his research on your species."

"So, after that, no more dying?" Riordan asked.

"Indeed. For many years, he kept his findings to himself. He is not the type to share such things unless he's sure of them. But he did share them with Xeus Lei."

"Your father. How come neither Marn, nor your dad, got human bearers? I mean, you're like 20-21, right? And Xer's about 18 years old."

"Yes, that is true. You see, Riordan, for the most prominent Xenos on our planet -- former planet now -- choosing a mate used to be a process that could take decades. The one who carried my father's egg, that is me, had been chosen even before Xenos conquered Earth. The same with His Royal Chancellor. For a while, it was almost unheard of for the upper echelon to take on human bearers. But that changed in time, as His Royal Chancellor began to encourage us to opt for your species more and more."

"Encourage or order?"

"Marn Savier believes in persuasion before using force," Xana said.

"I have no idea how much persuasion he used to convince Tasha to put his ass up for Xer, though."

He yelped when Xana bit on his earlobe.

"You're lucky we're so taken with your kind. Your tongues are sharp," his Xeno husband commented.

"I was just stating the obvious," Riordan said and shrugged. That bite stung but he resisted the temptation to grab his ear and rub it. No way he'd give Xana that satisfaction. "So, he encouraged you, as well?"

"He didn't need to do that in my case. As soon as I was allowed, I began frequenting the human brothels. It became clear to me that my bearer of choice could only be an Earthian."

Riordan felt the solid proof of that rubbing against his thigh. Xana was horny, not that he could hold it against him. Sex had to wait, nonetheless. Cario was right about one thing; information could be gained without taking down doors.

"How did the other Xenos react to Marn's encouragements?" he asked.

"Many were pleased," Xana said. "We were getting more and more enthralled with you, discovering a part of us that we didn't know existed."

"You got horny for our human asses," Riordan concluded for himself.

"Yes. Your crude speech is ideal for illustrating the growth of our desires for your bodies."

"Just our luck. So, you said that many were pleased. What about the rest?"

"Gamni Gafilos was against it. Publicly. And began gathering a group around him. His Royal Chancellor continued to work in silence on his project."

"What project?"

"To fulfill the purpose of our species -- finding the one species so compatible with us that we can begin our journey towards Tanez."

"That planet where we're heading. But wait, we don't even know where it is, right? Or does Marn know more than he lets on? After all, you just mentioned that he worked on his project in silence. Did no one else know about it?"

"He shared it with my father," Xana said. "My father's mission was, as I learned only recently, to find our true home planet."

"Damn," Riordan whispered. "So, what does that mean? Marn doesn't know where Tanez really is, and your dad has been missing in action... for how long?"

"I put all my trust in Marn," Xana said and began caressing Riordan's chest slowly. "He has dedicated his entire life for this and his results, so far, have been above our expectations."

"But what if your dad hasn't found Tanez? And does Marn know where he is right now?"

"Hush, no more questions, my beautiful bearer." Xana moved over him, between his legs, mindful of his enormous belly. "As your species loves to say, have faith."

Faith. That was one strange word in a Xeno's mouth. They were always so rational, or at least they tried to be, and yet, they were just navigating through the vast space without a clear destination in mind. The revelations were so many. Gamni's fall from favor, Xana's dad sent on the mission that could make or break Marn's lifetime project.

Riordan understood things a bit differently. No matter what Xana liked to say, there were so many things that showed that Xenos had their own fair share of emotions. Gamni had to be pissed for being shunned by Marn. That was why he was such a jerk, without a doubt. And Marn had to have blind faith in Xeus Lei's successful mission of finding Tanez. And there were so many other proofs. Xer must have been crazy about Tasha from the beginning. Like Xana had been about him.

And they were all jealous, and a little bit crazy, and horny bastards. The influence of Earthians on their species was more important than they cared to admit. It opened the door to such profound changes that Riordan wished he had his bot's extraordinary positronic brain so that he could start calculating the extent and seriousness of the outstanding string of consequences that must have been put in motion by Xeno taking over Earth half a century ago.

That would have to wait, however. By his side, Xana grew increasingly impatient, and Riordan gasped as his mouth was overcome by the tip of his husband's tail. The seth poured wildly over his chin and chest, as Xana penetrated him in one go. To think that even that he could only perceive as normal now, to have his body spread open on both ends by this alien whom he had come to love.

The easier way for them to indulge in their crazy lovemaking was if he turned on all fours. Xana immediately wrapped his arms around his belly, cradling it slowly, but without slowing down the pace of his thrusts. It had to be the closing of their egg's delivery that he felt everything so much more. It felt to him as if he longed for his Xeno lover even if they were so close. What was this new hunger growing inside so much that it almost felt that it couldn't be quenched?

Then Xana kissed him, devouring his mouth as usual, and his need abated a little. Riordan angled his head so that he could receive both tail and tongue between his lips, while his ass continued to get the pounding of his life.

He should have been ready for the flood of sex and cum, but it still took him by surprise. There was so much of it, and he loved every drop of it. The ramifications of their situation, the many possibilities, slipped his mind as his entire body was overcome.

"You'll sleep with me inside you," Xana whispered in his ear, as his cock pulsed deep inside Riordan's ass. "Tonight, I can't get enough of you."

That could only mean that he wasn't the only one to feel that deep hunger inside him. The thought reassured him, and when he felt asleep, his ass still spread wide around Xana's impressive girth, his dreams no longer turned into nightmares.

tbc