Brood Planet, Part 1 (Multi Broodmother TFTG) (Patreon)

A Story Prompt Tier for Spacebanana

Humanity is under threat of alien invasion, not that they know it yet. But this alien invasion is not interested in exterminating humanity, but simply turning its dominant species into enormous alien broodmothers to further their galaxial conquests. Unfortunately for 21-year old Allen and his family, that means big changes are ahead, and ones they might never be able to fully adjust to.

Brood Planet, Part 1

‘Population is approximately eight billion. They are mammalian, expressing milk. Bipedal, though.’

‘Hmm. But they are intelligent, yes?’

‘Highly, at least for this sector, though not nearly to galaxy-standard, which means the other spacefaring civilisations will have little to say about it.’

‘The Grotenar will dislike it.’

‘They are far from this system, and their conservationist stance is unpopular. No one will care for these ‘humans’ when we harvest them. They are primitive.’

‘You said they achieved space flight?”

‘Well, mostly primitive. We can erase those records easily. They have few missions to even their lunar body.’

‘Hmm, what uses? Warriors?’

‘Hardly. They have no exterior plating, and substantial modification would be required. They have warrior instincts, yes, but are far too fragile, and the training to make them accustomed to our weaponry would take too many resources.’

‘Administrators?’

‘That is a possibility. Their young are best suited for this, as it will allow the indoctrination methods to be pursued swiftly.’

‘How long does it take them to mature?’

‘Eighteen to twenty of their local solar cycles.’

‘Hmm, a great deal of time, for little result.’

‘Which is why I suggest the adult population become broodmothers for our own young, secure this sector of space and serve as the broodhive for the wider system - there are many moons on the larger gas planets that can serve as eventual colonies.’

‘Hmm, not a bad idea. Will their bodies handle it? They do brood, yes? They gestate?’

‘Somewhat. It takes three quarters of a solar cycle for brooding to complete, and usually only for one young.’

‘So few?’

‘But their capacity could be easily increased. This is the most efficient mutation to place upon the species, if you will it. It will enable cradle centres to be established swiftly, and takeover of the planet will also be much easier if we make them gestate immediately.’

‘They won’t like it.’

‘They won’t have a choice. No doubt some can fulfil other roles, warriors and administrators and servitors and the like, but this far from our cluster systems, a cradle centre is just what we need.’

‘Very well then. Send in the transponder ships. Bathe them in the necessary gene modifiers, and let’s begin production on a new brood planet.’

‘I’ll send them immediately. They won’t know what hit them.’

***

Allen was feeling tired as he headed home from his job. An ordinary twenty one year old man, he was living the typical college life, studying his English major to one day be a writer, and working at a nearby Wendy’s in the afternoons to support himself. He was a perfectly average person, with a medium build and height, short brown hair and brown eyes, and the kind of face that gets lost in a crowd rather easily, it was so average. It sometimes annoyed him, because it meant that when he was serving customers, his generic features made him a prime target for petty complaints, insults, demands for refunds, and even weary conversations about why the ice cream machine really was broken, and no, he wasn’t being lazy.

He’d just had such a shift, which explained his exhaustion. This tiredness was only exacerbated by the fact that it was his younger sister’s twentieth birthday, and so there would be a whole hassle of excitement and drama when he got home. He loved Sarah when they were younger, but ever since she’d been a teenager and her looks had become quite popular, she’d been obsessed with being one of those popular Insta-girls on social media, always taking selfies and turning every occasion into a chance to get more likes and attention. And this entire evening would be all about that.

“Great. Just fucking great,” he said to himself as he headed down the highway. The sun was already lowering over the horizon. He’d had to stay late at Wendy’s to close up, all because his annoying manager had decided to have a bit of a power trip after an angry customer chewed them all out. “Now I’m going to arrive late, and Sarah will never let me hear the end of it.”

It was then that an immense flashing light from above practically blinded him. He shielded his eyes, and had to screech to a stop on the side of the highway. He was grateful he lived in a small town, and that there were no cars he could see on the road, or else it could have been a disaster.

“What the hell is that?”

He got out of the car and shielded his eyes again as he looked up. The bright blinding nature of it dimmed somewhat as it passed, and it was then that his jaw dropped in awe.

“No. No way. It can’t be.”

It didn’t last long before rising back into the clouds, but it lasted long enough for him to know what he was looking at. It was large in size, perhaps the size of a large yacht, though who could tell at that distance. What he could definitely tell was its shape: a wide silver disc with a metal bubble above and below it. The almost stereotypical shape of an alien UFO.

“Holy shit, was that - it had to be! Holy fuck, I just saw an alien spaceship!”

He coughed a little, feeling suddenly a little odd. The last rays of the spaceships light left him, and for a moment he felt quite itchy, as if something strange was soaking into his skin and down into his core, causing his gut to churn. It bubbled, and he worried he was about to puke.

But then, as quickly as it had come, the feeling passed, and all was normal again. It was as if the spaceship had never appeared at all.

“Was that even real? Surely I saw it!”

He gaped, looking at the clouds and distant horizon for some minutes, even as the sun descended further onto the horizon.

“Did that light . . . do something?”

He was jolted from his shock and curiosity by the horn of a passing car.

“DON’T STOP ON A HIGHWAY, YOU MORON!”

He had to dodge a beer can being flung at him. He took one last look at the sky, trying to grapple with what he might or might not have seen. Then, with a weary sigh, as if he hadn’t just witnessed something incredible, he drove back to his parent’s house, where he still sadly lived, to ‘enjoy’ his sister’s birthday party.

***

‘Dosing is done. It’ll spread quickly through the population centres.’

‘Any witnesses?’

‘Oh, we had a few slipups. Grengher division fucked up, as usual. We need to punish them with menial labour. They like to ‘fly low’ apparently. I imagine a few dozen ships were seen. Apparently they like to dare one another by dropping their cloaking profiles.’

‘Well that’s just ridiculous. We’re trying to mutate a species for the empire, here!’

‘Unfortunately, they’re very good at their job.’

‘Fine. Well, how long will it take? I’ve never been part of the overseeing of a cradle planet transformation before.’

‘A couple of weeks, max. Hard to tell with mammalians, but I’ve taken the liberty of boosting their milk production. They should be seeing the first growths in just a few hours.’

‘And their young? I don’t want to cause issues there.’

‘Not to worry, they’ll only be affected once they reach adulthood. We’ll be causing weather events to ground their vehicles soon, and when the population is largely immobilised we’ll be able to care for their young and indoctrinate them into their new roles.’ They won’t like it, but at least the training centres will be on planet.’

‘Good, good. Let’s get to work then.’

***

Allen mumbled his way through the lyrics while his parents sang enthusiastically.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SARAH, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!”

His sister was wearing a tight blue dress that was so tight on her figure that it made him deeply uncomfortable, and she spent the entire song giggling and cackling and making that stupid pouty face social media girls always did, taking selfies as she did so.

“Oh my Go-od you guys! I have the best family ever! I’m so excited to post this!”

“Just make sure to edit my terrible singing voice!” their Dad said.

Allen just rolled his eyes at the fakeness of it all. Of course, this was just the family dinner - all vegetarian, just like Sarah asked for - the real party would be a private thing she’d organised that they definitely weren’t invited to. But this made a good online post about how ‘loving’ and ‘perfect’ her family was, despite the fact that their Mum and Dad were in the middle of organising a separation due to their work lives crushing any romance they once had, and that the two siblings couldn’t stand each other.

“Allen! Can’t you smile for just a few of these pictures! It’s my big day and I want to look perfect when this goes on my socials!”

“I don’t want to be on your socials,” he said. “They’re stupid, and annoying, and I don’t like being posted on them.”

“Now Allen, just let her have this,” their dad Ethan said.

“It’s okay if he doesn’t want to be in them,” Heather, their mom, replied. “Allen prefers his privacy, don’t you dear?”

“Thanks Mom,” Allen replied. “Can’t we just cut the cake?”

“Oh, you would prefer that he not appear in a family photo, wouldn’t you, Heather? After all, who cares about having a family unit in just one family photo!”

“It’s not for a family photo, Ethan! It’s just for Sarah’s online thingy!”

“It’s not a ‘thingy’, Mom!” Sarah replied. “It’s, like, my future! I’m one of the most popular girls on campus when it comes to an online presence. I could be an influencer.”

“Please, influencing what?” Allen laughed. “The colour of dress a random girl across the country wears? Way to aim high.”
“ALLEN!” Ethan yelled. “Don’t be mean to your sister on her birthday.”

“Yeah, Allen. Not like you have much of a future, anyway. How many times are you going to change your university degree?”

“I’m not changing it to ‘influencer’, I can tell you that, because it doesn’t exist!”

“LET’S JUST EAT CAKE!” Heather yelled.

The room fell silent, the disjointed family feeling the awkwardness of their respective outbursts. Sarah was clearly upset, and she began to cry. As usual, her father leapt to her side, promising ways to cheer her up. Allen rolled his eyes, but was stopped by his mom, who just gave him a knowing nod. The one that said ‘I know, but not now.’

In their family, with its impending separation, it was already clear who would be going with who, until they found their own places to live. Sarah had always been Ethan’s favourite, and while Heather tried not to play favourites, Allen was of the distinct impression that she was one of the few people who really ‘got’ him, and understood his often irritable and introspective nature.

“Fine, let’s eat the damn milk-free veggo cake,” he mumbled.

Sarah mumbled a little ‘fuck you’ to him, and he returned it, before they began divvying out the cake. He noticed that his sister didn’t even really eat it, just take slices and photograph herself with them. Allen pushed his away after a single bite. They ate largely in silence. Their Dad didn’t seem to really notice; he was too busy watching the television on the other side of the room.

“Well, will you look at that, huh? A real life UFO!”

Allen’s attention immediately shifted to the television, which depicted a blurry still image of exactly what he’d seen only an hour before. His eyes widened, and he stood suddenly, nearly overturning his plate.

“Holy shit!”

“Language, Allen!”

“Sorry, Mom. But look!”

Ethan laughed. “Crazy what people will think is real, huh? I bet it’s faked.”

The news banner simply read: Thousands Across Central Region Claim to See Alien UFO After Blinding Light. More To Come.

“That better not go too viral,” Sarah commented, already texting her friends. No doubt she was organising the ‘real party’ now that the home one was done and uploaded. It made Allen angry that she didn’t even care about their disintegrating family, but at that moment all he could truly care himself about was the image on the screen.

“I saw that too! I thought it was just a mirage or something, or I was too tired and seeing things, but it really was a UFO!”

“Yeah, right, this is just you trying to get more attention on my birthday!” Sarah muttered.

“I’m telling the damn truth!”

His Dad looked at him curiously. “Did you really see that? No offence son, but it sounds a bit farfetched. This just reeks of a slow news cycle.”

“I’m serious! I saw it on the highway. It flashed me - or at least a lot of people - with some eerie blinding light and then it took off.”

“Suuuure,” Sarah butted in. “And how come you haven’t mentioned it till now?”

Allen threw up his hands. “Because just like this, I knew people would think I’m crazy!”

“You always have been crazy, holing yourself up in your room to study, only coming out to eat and drink and piss like a total weirdo! Get some friends!”

Allen shook with rage. “I’m about to strangle you!”

“ENOUGH!” Ethan yelled. “Both of you to your rooms!”

Both the siblings turned to their father.

“We’re adults, dad,” Sarah said.

“Yeah, dad. I’m twenty one, and in case you haven’t forgotten, Sarah’s twenty today.”

Heather gave her husband an amused, ‘did you really think that would work?’ look, one that clearly only made him further embarrassed.

“Fine, fine! Who cares about what Dad has to say! I’m going to my own room! Jesus Christ, can’t have one family dinner . . .”

He moved up the stairs, Heather chasing him and trying to soothe his temper, which predictably only made a louder argument that carried around the house.

“Well done,” Sarah said, getting up in Allen’s face. “You ruined my birthday, you fucking weirdo.”

“Go take some photos of your crying face to post on the internet,” Allen responded.

She huffed, then stormed to her room upstairs as well, leaving Allen all alone.

“Damn, I think I did fuck everything up. Might as well go to my room as well.”

He walked up the stairs, stopping only to look at the image of that UFO on the screen, just a little longer. He knew for a fact now that he had seen it. But was it real? And if so, what did it want?

***

‘We should be seeing the first changes now.’

‘Excellent. I imagine it won’t be everything starting to appear at once.’

‘No, but there will be enough to make them confused. Half the world will be asleep, but the other half . . .’

‘Well, make it so they get it overnight as well. Take it by halves if possible.’

‘Not a bad idea. Most will suspect it’s coming, but it will avoid too many collisions and accidents.’

‘Exactly. We need this population converted into good broodmothers. If what these latest readings say is true, then they could be extra productive!’

‘I imagine it will be strange for them, suddenly becoming an alien race, destined forever to birth eggs for an empire they’ve never seen or heard of.’

‘Hmm, it would be. Good thing we’re the conquerors, eh? Besides, if we do this right, we can pick a convert or two to be our personal concubines!’

‘Now that would make the job all worth it.’

***

Allen woke, having felt unnaturally tired last evening. He remembered he’d gone to bed still pondering about the UFO, and angry at his sister, and at himself for starting yet another family fight. But the exhaustion had been overwhelming, almost unnaturally so, and he’d had to go to sleep. He assumed the others went to sleep early too, because he didn’t hear a peep from them either in those last hours of consciousness.

But now, as he came wider awake, he realised something was wrong. Dead wrong. At first he thought he was just bloated from dinner last night, or that he had experienced an allergic reaction, or had caught a stomach bug. There was a pressure in his stomach that was constant, and it felt like he was huge. It was only when he actually brushed his hand over his usually slim form that he felt something that should have been utterly impossible, something that made him wide awake.

His belly was rounded.

He tore the sheets off of his bed, and gasped in astonishment at what he saw. It was impossible. It couldn’t be.

“What the fuck is this? I’m - I’m - I’m pregnant!”

His belly was round and full and equal to the size of a woman in her sixth month of pregnancy. It had lost all of its usual body hair, and the skin was smooth and firm. He jabbed it with a finger, and winced at the shifting of what could only be amniotic fluid inside him. He stroked it again, and this time he moaned softly at its sensitivity, which caused his nipples to harden.

“My - oh fuck, my nipples too!”

They had swollen, becoming womanly and slightly off-coloured. The rest of him was unchanged, apart from perhaps a small addition of fat to his chest, which gave the slight suggestion of breasts. He refused to believe they had become such, however. He leapt to his feet - a little awkwardly due to his belly, and ran-waddled to the mirror in his room. With a horrified realisation, he saw that there was another change to his figure as well: a set of pale red antennae that were just a couple of inches long, twitching from the corner tips of his forehead.

“This can’t be. This has to be a dream!”

And then, as if simply to prove that it was not, he heard a loud scream that could only have come from Sarah.

“Oh my God I’m fucking preggers!”

And then one from his mother.

“AAAHH!! Honey, what’s - what’s happened to my body!”

And then finally from his father.

“No! No, this is crazy! What the hell did we eat last night? I look pregnant!”

And soon the house was a cacophony of chaos, and Allen could only hold his belly and marvel at what the alien UFO had clearly done.

“H-how many others, though,” he wondered aloud. He ran to the window, and flung it open.

And heard the entire neighbourhood, the entire town, waking up with cries of shock, surprise, and terror.

To Be Continued . . .