Praying for Mantis

"Then you're who we're looking for! It's wonderful to meet you, we've been waiting for a match for months." The taller one bobbed back and forth and he could tell it was excited. "Are you ready to go? We'd like to get started right away."

"I... ok, sure, I'm ready. Let's go." Resigned to operating without full information, he picked up his satchel and followed the pair out the door.

"This species is going to really do a number on our contracts, isn't it?" the beetle-like creature said to the other person in the room after the three had left. "It didn't even need to wait, it just had a job waiting for it. Indigo five, fuck."

"This is awful," the other one said mournfully, looking down at the ground. "I'm probably going to have to get a real job."

----

A few minutes later, the flying taxi pod hopped back into the air, probably heading to its next job. Kurt watched it go with wide eyes. He'd seen them flying overhead while walking around the busy hub town, but he'd never imagined the experience he'd just had flying in one as a passenger. He was glad to be back on the ground, but after seeing how far they'd gone in such a short period, I understood why some would pay for it. Speaking of money...

He gaped at the house in front of him. The manties (he found himself thinking of them like that for now, he hadn't learned much in the flight over because the two had spent most of the time telling him how happy they were he'd been available and now urged him inside the giant, glass-like spherical building. It had different colored facets, not like a rainbow but in specific patterns that seemed to denote opaque walls and transparent windows and more. He barely had a chance to take in the trees and vegetation surrounding it but after the concentrated masses in the city hub, he realized he was probably in the presence of some real wealth. Well, that probably helped explain the generous fee he was promised for-

"Excuse me," he said to the smaller of the manties, "can you tell me more about the job?" They led him through what must have been a kitchen and into a wide room that he decided was for entertaining guests and relaxing. Sure enough, they waved him towards a cushioned ottoman of some sort while they each settled onto chairs that he didn't recognize as such until they sat.

The larger one waved its... her? When it had spoken, it had a decidedly feminine sounding voice. Presumably the buds did that for a reason. She waved her antenna up and down. "Yes, of course. We're an ovuliparitious species with a semi-viviparity development phase. The contract period is three weeks and we're providing food and housing, of course."

That last part answered one question for sure, he hadn't looked forward to hiking back and forth from this obviously wealthy community all the way to someplace that had the free itinerant sleep pods. But the first part...

"Semi... parity owl... what?"

The two puzzled over his response and he realized the words had probably been translated literally. He tried again.

"Sorry, what I mean is, what exactly would you like me to do?" He waited earnestly, knowing this was the moment of truth. He'd seen his share of science fiction movies so he figured he could figure out how to be useful swinging a space shovel or weeding gardens or whatever it was they needed, just so long as they didn't expect to eat him or stick alien babies into him.

The smaller mantie chirped its legs together and the translator made laughing sounds. "Oh! I'm sorry, I thought... my pardon, they did say you were a first timer. No problem, it's no big deal."

Kurt relaxed. The smaller mantie, the male based on its voice, continued.

"It's simple, we just need to implant one of our eggs into you to carry to term."

---

A few minutes later, the two manties sat on either side of him as he drank a glass of water. Once they realized the effect the shocking announcement had had on him, they quickly worked to reassure him that nothing would happen without his consent and promised to tell him about the process when he was ready.

"We've waited months for someone who met our needs to become available and we would be disappointed if this didn't work out, but we don't want you to do anything you haven't agreed to," said Marva, as the translator had translated the name of the larger one.

"I'm furious that you weren't better informed of what you were being hired for, they should have told you," the smaller one chirped, agitated. His name, Kurt had learned, was Gelvin. "I'm tempted to file a complaint with the agency, I'm so sorry." He patted the human on his knee. "If you'd like, we can take you back, or we can give you a ride to somewhere else if you need."

Kurt finished the water and sat there holding the glass, thinking. To have the chance to make this kind of money disappear made his stomach hurt. In a flash, he'd gone from being on a path towards getting his life started off world all the way back to where he'd been this morning without any prospects.

"It's ok, I just..." He sighed. As he sat there, he realized he wasn't the only one who must be feeling loss. He felt bad for the two giant insect-looking things that would have looked right at home in a pre-contact horror movie, the two giant creatures that had just told him they wanted to use him as some kind of breeding vessel like, well, like in one of those horror films. "I thought this was my opportunity to get started in Society and also, I know you must be upset too. I don't know why they sent me to you, my species can't survive something like this, some alien exploding out of my chest or wherever. I've heard that some creatures can heal from-" He paused. The two manties were looking at each other, then back at him, then at each other, then back at him again. One of them lifted itself and turned, moving a little closer on its legs.

A jolt of adrenaline coursed through him. They weren't going to attack him, were they? He'd gotten the lessons in non-judgment hammered into him back in the terminal at LAX and on the flight here and it had served him well so far in this incredibly complicated, strange city, but...

"Kurt Sanderson of Earth, I just wish to... do you understand that the process does not cause injury?" Gelvin spoke slowly and carefully, as if one might to a spooked horse. Kurt tried not to follow the implications of that too far.

"What? How? You'd stab an egg into me and when it hatched, it would eat its way out of me, right? We have creatures that do that on Earth as well, and I can't" He stopped again, confused. Both manties were furiously rubbing their legs together and he could barely hear the translated laughter sounds in his buds through the actual racket they made.

"Did they not tell you that you were an Indigo Five?" Melva finally asked between gales of translated laughter. Gradually, they both quieted, and this was the first thing either had said in almost a half a minute.

"Well, yes, but they didn't tell me what that meant. The others in the waiting room seemed to think it was something big, but, well..." He shrugged.

"Kurt," Melva began, then stopped. Gelvin spoke.

"Kurt, an Indigo Five is the classification for a species that can host the young or participate in reproduction for a wide variety of species, including ours, with no physical injury, minimal temporary chemical modification required. No surgical intervention, no drugs that might impact the development of the newling, and conditions within the breeding pouch that would be safe for it."

Melva spoke up. "Some species have aggressive immune responses, sometimes even physical ones, that make their insides unsuitable and even unsafe. You," she tapped lightly on his belly and making him start in surprise, "are not that. Even your core body temperature is ideal. On our planet, there is a creature that fulfills this role for us but," she waved her arms around, as if to encompass the surrounding suburbs and the giant city nearby, "it is not practical to keep them here."

"There isn't a big population of our kind here," Gelvin said, "not enough to economically maintain a herd of Z'dek." The name of the creatures, Kurt thought.

"Also, Z'dek are as big as 1.75 horses," Melva mentioned. Kurt was confused for a moment, then realized the buds must have translated the gist of the units or comparison they'd just made in their own language. He suspected they had no idea horses even existed. He tried to imagine a heard of these big creatures wandering through the densely packed areas he'd seen here and nodded to himself. Impractical indeed.

"Wait," he said suddenly, thinking about something the larger creature had just said. "You said... my body temperature was ideal?"

She looked at him curiously. "Yes? From the classification, it tells me roughly what your temperature must be and that your body self-maintains temperature unlike some creatures that are very vulnerable to outside temperature swings."

But Jeff was chuckling to himself at how literal the buds had translated Azarac's words. The agency, the gregarious worm creature had said, was looking for 'warm bodies', and, he figured, that had been exactly what they wanted indeed.

"Ok," he said after a moment to the two giant, terrifying looking and simultaneously concerned alien beings in whose living room he was sitting. "Tell me more about what _exactly_ would happen."

So they did.

---

A few days later, he was back at the clinic with Gelvin. Following a frank conversation about what was expected, Kurt found himself nervous but onboard with what was to come. The conversation had taken turns in unexpected directions and definitely hadn't been what he thought it would be about, but here he was, several days into a special diet designed to fine tune his body for the upcoming... procedure.

Not yet an expert at telling the difference between individuals of other species, Kurt nonetheless felt pretty sure it was the same clerk as before behind the desk. The monkey-like creature (which he now knew were the 'Hazen', upon whose planet he now lived) looked up at him and straightened up.

"Earthian Sanderson! I trust you are well?"

The change in attitude since their first meeting was immediately noticeable. Understanding the desirability of his body type better now, he felt he understood why. He would be making the clinic a lot of credits on this contract and they no doubt wanted him to remain available afterwards, but he wasn't sure. This felt like a one-off job to establish himself, he wasn't sure how he felt about selling his body but circumstances being what they were...

"I am well," He looked more closely at what he now recognized as a name badge on the creature and read the translated name overlaid onto his vision, "Citizen Sperholt. I hope the same is true for you?" The hazen nodded respectfully back, then up to the praden who had entered with him. Both 'manties' had read and viewed the stored Wikipedia article on Praying Mantis' on his tablet after inquiring what 'Mantie' meant, the nickname he had given them in his head and let slip in conversation less than an hour earlier while they were continuing to get to know each other back at their house. After gently informing him that their people referred to themselves 'Praden' instead, they'd asked about the nickname and a minute later, he'd found the article on his local copy of the online encyclopedia.

They'd read it together quietly, then Melva had turned to Gelvin, her jaws slowly extending apart. "You know what I must do now of course, husband?" Gelvin had scrambled over a very startled Kurt and raced out of the room. A moment later, he was almost knocked over when the much larger but no less athletic female praden launched herself over him in pursuit of the fleeing male.

"I shall consume your delicious head, my love!" the buds translated as she bolted out of the living room. Kurt had sat there in confusion that only worsened when the male had run through the living room from another entrance, his wife now roaring. This happened twice more and gradually Kurt had become certain the two were playing. A moment later, Melva caught the smaller male in the next room over and had towered over his pinned body in mock ferocity. "It is I, the fearsome Space Mantis! I eat my mate! Feeeear me!"

Underneath, Gelvin started laughing and then she was too and Kurt couldn't help but smile. He also knew he'd need to be more careful about assigning nicknames to the creatures he met in Society. The next ones might not be as understanding.

"Ok! Ok! I get it, I'm sorry!" he laughed, joining them in the other room as they both got up, still chuckling.

"It is ok, Kurt, these things happen. There is a creature that looks similar to you on our planet too, but-" Gelvin stopped, then bowed his head in a manner he had grown to recognize as embarrassment. "It is nothing."

"Wait," protested the human. "What is it? What's the creature that looks like humans?"

After the praden equivalent of a sigh, he explained. "They occupy the ecological niche on our planet that... they are small pests, they can get into almost anything and go anywhere and we must periodically have them removed from our houses if we live near agricultural fields. Please don't-"

But Kurt wasn't listening anymore, now he was the one laughing. Wheezing, he managed to type another search into his pad and bring up a different Wikipedia article. Turning it towards the couple, he pointed at it. "Mice! I look like your version of a mouse!" He cracked up again. Society was an eye opener every day, and this was not exception.

But that had been an hour ago, now they were here at the clinic because of what had happened next. Melva had sat restlessly while the two had had this conversation, growing agitated and then, impatiently, she had grasped Gelvin's arm. When he looked at her, she had whispered furiously.

"What? I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What is it?" Gelvin had asked. The larger praden had pulled him in closer and spoke again, more slowly. "I said, it is time, lover." Gelvin had gaped at her. She shook him lightly. "I do not know if it is the hormones or if this little chase of ours set things in motion, but I am ready." She looked over at the wide-eyed human host standing next to them. "It is time." She released her mate and turned, then walked stiffly out of the room and towards, Kurt suddenly realized, the breeding room.

Gelvin stood there for a moment, then turned to the human. "You are ready?"

Kurt hesitated for a moment, then nodded. They had discussed the steps and he knew what came next and realized he was, indeed, ready, so they had left for the clinic for the next part.

The hazen clerk summoned an attendant to take them in back. Even Indigo Fives required some small housekeeping before the procedure, he'd learned, and while it sounded uncomfortable he knew it was a pretty small part of the whole process overall so he did his best to put it out of his mind.

Leading the two of them through a door, he found himself facing an unmistakably medicine related clinical chair. Metal or plastic arms held different padded cushions and from looking at it, he could tell it could be reconfigured to fit many different species. He thought back to the stubby casual chairs back at his hosts' home upon which they rested their abdomen-analogues and considered how many different ways there must be to sit and recognized the challenges that must go into building something truly universal.

Standing there and looking at the construct before him, he decided they'd tried their best to meet that goal. As he looked it over, the attendant walked over to some controls and began touching some controls. After a moment, it looked up at Kurt standing there and its tail snapped impatiently.

"You should disrobe," it told him evenly, obviously controlling its tone but he definitely felt as if expected that he should just know already. Next to him, he sense Gelvin shifting protectively and held up his hand to reassure the alien creature. Getting ready to disrobe, he suddenly froze. He looked out the interior windows facing into the alien workplace where other hazen worked on equipment, ran tests, cleaning, and did all the other things required to keep a clinic like this operational. At the far wall, he could even see a room where an alien couple appeared to be meeting with one of the staff. He wondered for a moment if they were getting a consultation or maybe-

"Now, please?" the attendant added.

"Is there any privacy?" Kurt asked, feeling like he was sliding further and further away from his comfort zone.

The pseudo-simian worker stared at him for a moment then, grudgingly he thought, touched a control that rendered the windows opaque. Kurt sighed with relief, then shook his head. Considering what was in his future, opaque windows shielding him from the eyes of a half dozen creatures that probably couldn't care any less about seeing him nude seemed like a small thing, but he ran with it. He began to pull off his shirt then paused, looking over at the insectoid praden that he had become friends with over the last few days. Briefly uncertain, he realized he was being silly and continued to pull the shirt off. Considering what the next few weeks or even hours contained, this was an even sillier thing to worry about.

Perhaps noticing his momentary hesitation, Gelvin reached out to steady him as he stepped out of his jeans. The praden's hands felt cooler than a human's and Kurt felt a momentary thrill at the touch. He knew there would be more to come, but nonetheless, he thought about that brief touch while he finished undressing and stacking his clothes on a convenient surface nearby. At a look from the attendant, he pulled off his underwear too and said a brief mental thanks to the universe for those opaque windows. He realized that the chair had shifted into a recognizably human-compatible looking configuration while he was undressing and, not wanting to attract any more ire from the hazen at the controls, he climbed up onto it and sat.

When the pair of giant, mantis-like praden told him there would be preparations like this, they had discussed at a high level how there would be a cleaning and this kind of preparation before the implantation and fertilization. He had touched his mouth with his hand, feeling the teeth and imagining something going down his throat. "That sounds uncomfortable," he'd said. The two looked at each other, then back.

"We will not be using your mouth," Marva said gently.

"Oh," Kurt had responded. Then again, "ohhhh."

Now he sat here, days later, and it was happening. He looked over at the attendant curiously.

"Ok, so what are-ULP!" he broke off, unintelligably mid-sentence as he felt bare bare ass cheeks pulled apart by the chair pulling those cushions to either side and something cold touching his exposed asshole. He jerked involuntarily but even though he had full freedom of motion in his legs and arms, his pelvis felt as if it were held firmly in place.

The cold sensation transformed into the unmistakable feeling of a narrow, wet object pushing up into him. Of course, he understood that the clinic would be doing this and making some other preparations for the procedure, but for some reason he'd expected to work up to it. Now here he was, nude, slightly reclined on an alien device while a cold finger-sized object slid into his guts.

Finger-size wasn't true anymore either, he realized a moment later as it began to grow.

"Oh! That is... weird." He looked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with either of the other two beings in the room.

"Are you doing ok?" Gelvin asked, concerned. He reached out with that cool hand and touched Kurt's wrist.

"It's... yes, I'm ok, I just didn't expect-whoa!" He stopped again, not trusting his voice. The thing in his ass had stopped pushing inwards and was just sitting there but it wasn't motionless. He could feel it continuing to slowly expand and there was a pressure near where it entered him that he realized must be some kind of balloon or something holding it in place and, he figured, sealing him tight.