Queen's Mate Ch. 01

Loren Guthrie looked out the view port of the explorer ship, Infinite Destiny, taking in the unfamiliar star-field before her view. Sitting in her command chair she smiled and sipped from her favourite mug and glanced at the quiet monitors set before and beside her while she settled more comfortably into her seat to wait and patted the arm of her chair affectionately. Her ship was her only companion and had been her home for the past three years. She had purchased the state of the art craft when she graduated top of her class from the Gaian Lyceum. The ship and obtaining the necessary licences to run it had nearly drained the whole of her considerable inheritance from her parents.

The solitude of her life did not bother her, she had essentially been alone since both her parents perished in the Solun Encounter when she had been only four years old. Well provided for she was taken into social care where she had been discovered to be a child prodigy, she had hyper accelerated through all of her studies and finished her university studies, gaining four advanced science degrees simultaneously, at the tender age of 18. Three years of further study, and more importantly intensive training at the Lyceum and Loren was ready for her career in the outer reaches of space.

Upon graduating she had been offered an immediate Captain's commission in EarthCorps' home fleet, a similar rank and position in Research in the Corps' Science division, as well as several civilian offers from private development companies. None of these appealed, Loren had always had her eye and her heart firmly set on exploration so she bought Infinite Destiny and worked exploration contracts with the government and private ventures.

In Gaian culture space exploration had been the sole preserve of private citizen explorer/traders for the past 200 years. They had learned the hard way in their early days of spacefaring that the first few alien species they encountered responded adversely and aggressively to large armadas or heavily armed vessels showing up in their domains. A few wars and accidental disasters had meant a short period of withdrawal back to the confines of their own solar system and concentration on defence, control and protection of the home system. But the ever pressing need for new sources of natural resources and trade eventually lead to a re-examination of that policy. Through hit and miss they found that sending out small explorer craft to map new areas of space was less threatening and more accepted by any stray aliens encountered. When resources were found in uninhabited areas the explorers would be followed by extraction teams. If new species were encountered and they were spacefaring, there were varied reactions; curiosity, friendliness and setting up trade links were the positive ones, the negative, well those were dangerous, often violent, messy or sometimes just plain mysterious and that's why explorers made the money they did, risk and danger paid.

The sector Loren was currently exploring would definitely fall in the dangerous and mysterious bracket. The first explorer had been this way over 150 years before, one of his preliminary data drones had made it back to the home system 40 years later but he never returned. The data had indicated evidence for high concentrations of a number of highly prized minerals and four more explorers had followed the first hoping to confirm the data and locations of the finds. All four had never been heard from again, the last having disappeared 50 years ago. Loren was determined to succeed where they had failed.

Loren's piercing blue eyes continued to lazily scan the viewport as she finished her drink. The monitors stayed blank and she decided it was a good time to head into the fitness chamber. Before entering the small space she stripped down to her sports bra and boy shorts style undergarments leaving them in the alcove shelf beside the door. She stepped into the 4 metre square space and moved to the centre. "Treadmill set one."

The floor beneath her began to move slowly and she walked against the movement. Her petite 5 foot 4 inch frame was well proportioned starting and thanks to her devotion to her well rounded exercise regime her muscles were well toned without being hard or exaggerated. Here belly retained a pleasant softness despite her muscles. Her waistline was perfectly proportioned not exaggeratedly narrowing between her ample hips and her generously sized breasts. The young woman was proud of her body and worked hard to maintain it. "Treadmill set two."

The floor began to move faster and Loren picked up the pace to match. Five minutes later she increased the pace again and incrementally until she was in a full out run before gradually slowing down at the end of a good half hour run followed by her upper body exercises. After a vibe shower followed by a change to fresh clothes she returned to the main compartment two hours later.

Loren whiled away her evening listening to music and reading in her command chair intermittently checking on the progress of the six long range probes she had scattered out nearly 2 months ago to various points including two possibly viable solar systems before she retired to her bunk to the rear of the command level. The blank monitors were not a concern at the moment, it was still early days, she knew from past experience she could be here several months before the robes found anything that would cause her to follow up by moving closer to that area of the sector. She just needed to sit back and wait.

Three weeks later Loren was wakened from a deep sleep by the sharp sound of her alert claxon. Scrambling groggily from her bunk she stumbled over to the command chair immediately focusing on the stream of data beginning to flash across the monitors. Processing the information her growing excitement brought her fully awake as she reviewed and double checked the data.

The data was coming from the sixth of her probes, the five others having completed their sweeps without results, but pouring over the flood of details now she knew she'd hit the jackpot. That was until the data stream quite suddenly stopped. For several hours she frantically worked to reconfigure the probes protocols to re-initiate connection all to no avail, the probe was gone. Loren knew that any number of space phenomena could be the cause of the probes failure, but there was something so sudden so complete to the probes termination it gave her an uneasy feeling. Two days of reviewing the data and what it could mean if it was confirmed had her deciding to ignore the strange feeling and set her ships' course toward the far solar system from which the data originated.

Several weeks later the Infinite Destiny entered the edge of the solar system in which the probe had disappeared. Loren was frustrated as her sensors seemed to be malfunctioning requiring continuous recalibration and shorting out before any data could be acquired. Loren's unease increased as she was to an extent flying blind. After 37 hours of frantic work she tumbled onto her bunk and fell into an exhausted sleep.

The original data from the probe indicated the largest mineral deposits were on the fourth planet orbiting around the twin stars at the centre of the system so her course was set to that destination. There had been no indication in any of the data to indicate the system was inhabited by advanced species but the fourth and sixth planets had indicated life supporting ecosystems. The young Gaian was about to discover the indications had been wrong.

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The room was large and well -lit from multiple points along the walls and across the ceiling. Banks of sensors and monitors covered one wall, interspersed with trays containing a variety of odd shaped instruments all made from an amber coloured metal. In the middle of the room was a large table of the same metal set at a 45 degree angle to the floor. On that table lay an unconscious Loren Guthrie, she was completely naked and held to the table by an unseen force. Here arms rested comfortably by her side but her legs were splayed wide and slightly bent at the knees. Her pelvis was set over a rounded bump in the table tilting it upward to better expose her pussy. This exposure was further assisted by the multiple amber clamps attached to the inner and outer labia pulling them out and wide and attaching to two straps wrapped around her thighs. The woman slumbered on oblivious to her situation. Moving around the room were three large creatures monitoring the screens and selecting instruments before moving toward the prone woman but stopping short of the table.

The creatures were about five foot tall, bipedal but insectoid in appearance with two sets of arms giving them six limbs in total, almost a cross between an ant and a preying mantis. They walked on two sets of three powerful equal length toes/claws and their legs held two knee joints articulated in opposite directions. Above the second joint they had powerful muscular thighs leading up to a ribbed abdomen then a plated and muscled mid torso at the side of which sprouted the first set of arms, longer than those connected to the shoulders and considerably more muscular. The chest looked like an ancient armoured breast plate topped by rounded shoulders leading to the second, shorter set of arms. All four upper limbs ended in three long claw like but articulated fingers one of which worked like an opposable thumb. A short thin but sinewy neck ended in an oval skull topped by two long fluid antennae approximately three and half feet long. Their large eyes were almond shaped and set wide apart almost on opposite sides of the skull with nearly transparent eyelids that blinked sporadically. Their faces tapered to a narrow rounded point at the end of which was their mouth opening. This mouth had no lips and no teeth but two sets of pincer shapes one set hard like claws and the inner set soft and feathery. Below their hips/abdomen their bodies continued in a wide serrated and armoured tail that folded backward and moved up and down but was rigid to side movements. This tail ended in two large stingers that moved together like pincers.

The different parts of their bodies were coloured in varying shades of tan and beige, the shadings delineated between what appeared to be softer or harder parts of their bodies. The darkest shading of a deep brown colour formed a narrow triangle from the apex of their thighs, up their bellies ending just short of level with their first set of arms. The creatures appeared not to wear anything remotely like clothes, at least not for the purposes of covering themselves. Instead they wore an assortment of collars, cuffs, bracelets and belts made from an assortment of different materials, some more like jewellery than material garments.

The three were now standing in front and to the sides of the angled table ready to begin ther work but waiting for some reason. A hexagonal opening appeared in the far wall through which entered a fourth mantis. This one was slightly larger than the others overall but moved more slowly and slightly hunched over giving the definite impression of great age. They also wore more belts and bangles than the others combined as well as a much larger piece of material that hung around their shoulders looking very like a shawl of some kind. The three creatures bowed to the fourth and all four began to speak to each other, their four mandibles creating clicking, purring and chirruping sounds. The communication rose and dipped almost musically.

The newcomer came forward very close up to the prone woman moving around the table to access all angles and dipping their head very close to her midsection and groin. As they inspected her their antennae waved down and forward stroking over the unconscious woman's belly, mons and labia. They twitched and swayed and ever so lightly ghosted over the skin, both smelling and in a manner of speaking tasting the alien visitor's strange scents.

Loren's earlier sedation had been gradually wearing off and it might have been the sounds of her captors communicating or the feeling of being touched but it was at this point that she began to regain consciousness. When her eyes opened the first thing she saw was the chittering face of the larger mantis creature. A veteran of many alien encounters she felt surprised at her sudden wakefulness but not panicked. The panic only began when she realised two important facts at the same time, she was naked and she was unable to move.

"What the hell?"

She began to pull at her arms and legs trying to move but she couldn't move a single inch, it was like her body was glued to the table, even the back of her head. The creatures' chittering increased and one moved over to the wall of monitors and data terminals. Loren's heartrate spiked and adrenalin coursed through her causing her to strain even more against her immobility.

"Let me go!! You can't do this!" Let me go!"

Her captors did not appear concerned about her struggles but moved away from the table a little when a robotic arm appeared over the top of the table extending down to place three sensor clamps on both of the woman's temples and the middle of her forehead. Loren's verbal pleas morphed into an inarticulate cry when she felt the sensors clamp to her skin and heat up. A tickling sensation followed by pressure building across her head till it felt like it was going to explode causing her to cry out in pain. Mere seconds after her scream the pressure disappeared and the sensors detached before the whole arm retracted and disappeared over the back of the table.

Loren knew nothing of this, the last burst of pain having caused her to black out. Her captors moved forward, one of them using an instrument to inject a stimulant into the woman's neck. Whatever had been in the serum injected caused her to come immediately and fully back to consciousness and back into her waking nightmare. Her fear and panic returned and her breathing and heartbeat quickened. The larger mantis came forward chittering gently and from nowhere the word 'calm' appeared in Loren's mind. Then again, 'calm' and 'peace', then puzzlingly 'welcome' and 'bearer'.

Loren looked at the creature and realised it was communicating with her telepathically so rather than speaking she thought her plea, 'let me go please,' 'why are you doing this to me?' After a pause the words, 'honour', 'necessary,' 'examine,' 'bearer,' and once again 'honour' came to her thoughts. It wasn't proper communication the words didn't form sentences or even fully complete statements more like the barest impression of information, but it was definitely communication, questions asked and answered and even inflection in how the words appeared in her thoughts.

Loren flinched when the mantis laid one of their hands on her belly and stroked it. Thoughts came to her, 'bearer,' 'good,' 'compatible,' 'honoured,' 'Queen,' 'breed,'. Loren responded in her thoughts, 'NO! You can't!' 'I don't want to breed.' A shiver of fear ran through her at the very idea. The creatures looked all hard shell and she didn't even want to think what breeding would entail. How could these insectoids possibly be compatible with her humanoid body?

The mantis seemed to shake their head as if at a naughty child and the words, 'honour,' 'cared for', 'prepare', 'examine,' 'now'. The mantis then signalled for the others to move forward and begin the work that had been interrupted. Loren tried to see what they were doing but her head was held firmly against the table and she could only see the creatures moving nearer to her body, while the leader continued to stroke her belly. It was then that Loren registered that the fingers she expected to be more like claws were in fact supple and covered in millions of tiny fine hairs. The creature continued to murmur in her thoughts... 'calm', 'relax', 'test', 'modification', 'necessary', 'bearer', 'honoured'. As the creatures worked, Loren's mind heard scattered words relating to what they were doing to her drift through her mind.

One of the creatures lifted a large thin tablet and moved it slowly over her body from head to her toes. The tablet emitted a bright amber light downward mapping the body under it. When the three consulted the readouts on the tablet they went to gather other items to use. The fourth remained stroking her belly.

One of the creatures started to stroke and squeeze one of Loren's breasts and then the other, chattering to the others all the while before concentrating on her nipples. The fingers were firm but the soft hairs were like delicate feathers tickling pleasantly over her areolas. To her horror Loren found this arousing and a blush of shame rose to her cheeks as she kept thinking, 'no,' and 'please' and 'stop.' Even as her body betrayed her and she felt herself getting wet from the alien manipulations.

None of her pleas were responded too but as the mantis inspecting her breasts begin to pinch and pull her nipples into solid nubs the words of their exam flowed through her thoughts. 'Pleasure centre,' 'factors 3 -4,' 'feeders,' 'nutrient production,' 'modify,' 'enlarge.' The creature finishes their exam and reaches for an instrument, it looks like an early Gaian flashlight, a foot long narrow tube topped with much wider cone shape attached at the narrowed point and widening outward. One of the other creatures picks up its twin before they both attach the cones of their instruments over each of Loren's nipples and areolas.

Loren gasped when she felt the suction immediately exerted on her nipples pulling them upright and taught. The stimulation was working on her pussy as well and she tried in vain to close her legs wanting to rub her now swelling labia together to relieve her growing arousal. Her blush deepened and she continued to think her objections to the mantis leader although the strength of the pleas lessened with each repetition. The pull on her nipples was continuous and felt wonderful though just on the threshold of pain. After a little while Loren let lose a whimpering cry when concentric rows of tiny needles appeared inside the cones and clamped one circle around the outer areola, one around the base of her nipple and several rows around the nipples culminating in a single needle to each nipple tip. At first they only penetrated a micro millimetre under the skin. She felt them as more of pin pointed itches than full on pricks. Incredibly slowly the needles pushed deeper allowing her time to cope with the sensations with each push. No blood was drawn but the discomfort grew as they sunk in deeper. When they were a tenth of a millimetre deep they began to inject a stinging fluid into her nipples and breasts in short pulsing bursts. Loren cried out in pain then, it felt like her breast were being filled with freezing ice shards and she instinctively struggled and tried to move away from the pain.

The older mantis chittered at one of the others who went to fetch something from the trays. 'Calm,' 'be calm,' 'not long,' 'necessary,' 'feed young.' The limited communication wasn't enough to let the captive woman know they couldn't sedate her through the treatments and body modifications she required to be successfully bred by the Queen and bear Her young. The mantis moved one of their hands into Loren's hair stroking through it somewhat mesmerised by the strange feature while maintaining their stroking on her belly. 'Calm', 'will hurt,' 'sorry,' 'necessary,' 'short time.' Doing its best to comfort her prisoner.

Distracted by the quick and repeated thoughts in her head Loren didn't see the half mask till it was already fitted around her lower face from the top of her nose, over her mouth and back around her jaw. In a new panic she nearly hyperventilated afraid it would smother her. 'Calm,' 'breathe, 'breathe.' The thoughts were becoming hypnotic in some way and she managed to slow her breathing, adjusting to the feel of the mask as it seemed to mould itself to the shape of her face.