Part 2 of Dark Matter

"Is... is he going to live?" Lucky asked the man who was surveying the situation in the space port they had landed within. He pursed his lips thoughtfully and got on his comm.

"Hey, can you have one of the Predantus advisor's come down to the docks? I have a situation here that calls for their expertise." The man said to the other end. Confirmation was given and Lucky was asked to wait. He shifted from foot to foot in nervousness, the small crew that was with him had already gone inside to register. He had to find out what was happening on the ship first.

He heard the footsteps coming down the corridor with some nostalgia. It sounded so much like Hus' strange gait that part of him made his chest leap in hope. It wasn't Hus though, he knew that. When he caught sight of the Predantus and strange looking half human next to him, it was confirmed. This was someone else, a smaller and less scary looking bug with a human-ish companion.

He tried to focus on the matter at hand though. His own questions regarding them could wait until he had more information on this... Well... he looked back at the cocoon that had formed inside the walls of the king's chamber with confusion. After the blast, he had come running in to see Hus spewing goop and blood. It had hardened into this rock hard ball that they couldn't see through, nor cut through.

"I am Syn, ambassador for the Predantus. What seems to be the issue?" He said to Lucky. Lucky tilted his head at the careful speech. This guy was good.

"Uh, hello. I am Lucky, a member of the anti-pirate fleet. This is my Captain, Hus of Predantus." He waved behind him to the big black ball of rock. That made everyone's eyebrows go up as they surveyed the strange cocoon.

"Oh dear. What happened?" The half-human said as he moved forward to approach the rock. He put a hand on it curiously. "It's warm. What does this mean Syn?"

"It means that he is alive. This is rather disturbing though. Was he badly hurt in battle?" Syn asked the boy who had called him. Lucky nodded, realising that he still bore the marks from the last stand-off with the pirate king himself. "Hmm... then he is gone into stage two of the Predantus warrior class. He will emerge about a year from now as an Upper Level warrior." He pronounced. Lucky shifted uneasily and cleared his throat nervously.

"Sorry... uh, sorry to disagree with you sir. You see, our captain was already a stage two, I think. I saw him come out the first time and it was pretty bad-ass. He went all psycho on the guys that hurt him. This time was a deliberate hit on his main enemy. He won, but was... well... I didn't really know what to do." He gestured at the carnage. Syn seemed shaken up and pulled the half-human to the side.

"You should come with us." The other boy said. Lucky nodded and they took him through a screening door, past the welcoming area where others were being logged in, and directly onto a shifter. He hated being this far from Hus, even if he was in that cocoon. "My name is Rhian. I am Syn's mate and the Commander of the station's son." He offered a hand and they shook briefly.

"Hey, is this going to take long? I don't like leaving him..." Lucky was staring out the window, trying not to panic. Rhian patted his arm gently and smiled reassuringly.

"He will not wake for long time. Do you care if we remove the cocoon from the ship, Lucky?" Syn asked cautiously. Lucky shook his head.

"Nope. You can take the damn ship apart if you want to. I don't care." He would be glad to be rid of it. It reminded him of watching Hus dying and not being able to get to him. At least, he thought that was what he might have seen. Now he wondered. Syn said that he was still alive. Lucky didn't know how it was possible, but he had hope.

"Ah, Syn, how are you today? Did you need me for something?" They had arrived at a man's quarters and were shown in to sit down. Lucky was too nervous to actually sit. Syn spoke to Rhian in that clicking language and then the boy spoke instead.

"We have a sort of problem, but it is also an opportunity for you. This boy has brought us a cocooned Predantus, which I know you have never seen before. We were hoping that you would be willing to watch over it until it matures, and then you could take samples from the various parts afterwards to complete your research." Rhian spoke to the man, but Lucky was confused until he turned to him and explained.

"Doc here looks after all the Predantus on board the station. He is the foremost expert on their physiology on board, and it would give him the opportunity to learn more to help the species. You may stay with the cocoon and live here with us until Hus matures to his stage 3 form. Then you may both decide what you wish to do." Rhian told him thoughtfully. Lucky began to relax as soon as he realised he was not being taken from Hus' side.

"I guess? I mean if he wants to help Hus and the Predantus, then sure." Lucky allowed cautiously. He would be able to watch if anything weird or bad happened to Hus. The doctor came and shook his hand gleefully. Syn bowed a little and Rhian outright hugged him. That was awkward and weird, but whatever.

*

A year is a long time to wait when you are wondering if your best friend may live or die. It gives a person time to heal their wounds and learn more about themselves. In Lucky's case, he was able to learn about Syn and Rhian too. Rhian was a rather affectionate friend from the moment he agreed to stay on board the station. The strange half-breed was full of information and higher up connections.

Lucky was able to act as a liaison between the anti-pirates that Hus and he had collected, and managed to get them all respectable jobs through his new friend. It was strange to think that they were now a sanctioned branch of the station's defense force. All that was left to make his life complete was for his friend to break out of his shell and rejoin him.

"Lucky? Lucky! Lucky get your ass over here now!" He suddenly heard the doctor yelling from the next room. Hus' cocoon had been put into a secure room with an attached laboratory and sitting room, where Lucky was currently taking a break in. He spent most of his time around Hus' quarters and his job was to oversee the operations on a supervisory level now from the station.

"Lucky! I am about to be murdered if you don't get your ass in here and explain what's going on!" He heard the doctor yell and that his movements move to full speed as he ran to the inner chamber. He swiped his pass card at the door and the giant bolt slid free to open the massive door. Inside was quite the sight. Hus had emerged and was even bigger than before.

He had the doctor cornered in the back suspiciously. The man was both equally terrified and fascinated by the massive creature before him. Hus was the largest specimen of his kind the doctor had ever seen. His long ropes of fibres stood up on his head with his unease and he practically filled the leftover space in the room. His expression lifted a little when he saw Lucky.

"Lucky, you are here?" He backed away from the doctor slightly and tilted his head in that same way Hus always did when waiting for an answer to questions. Lucky grinned at him and moved in for a tight hug, surprising both Hus and the doctor. He had grown a bit while Hus was in his cocoon, but now that his friend was bigger he still felt dwarfed by him.

"Thank goodness you are alright. I was so worried, Hus. Don't scare me like that!" He scolded the giant bug. It was funny to the doctor to see such a massive creature look so sheepish in front of the small man. The bug patted the boy awkwardly on the back and refused to meet the doctor's eyes. He huffed a laugh and Lucky turned to glare at him.

"Sorry. Do you mind if I fill Hus in? I have lots of questions for him." The doctor said. Lucky nodded but didn't move away from Hus, rather he just leaned against the side of him. They talked between them for what seemed like hours, the doctor about what had happened from the time he showed up at the station and Hus about his general health.

"Lucky, I am going with the doctor for sssome tesstsss." Hus shook his shoulder gently. Lucky yawned and got up from his sitting position against the wall. He followed Hus and the doctor into the next room to watch. He didn't want to leave him just yet, no matter how tired he was. This was the first time he had seen his friend talking and walking in over a year after all.

The doctor used some tools to determine how thick Hus' armour plating was now. He also scanned the vital readings for internal functions. He tried to take a blood sample, but had to send for a stronger needle to get through Hus' skin. Lucky laughed and make a crack about Hus being thick skinned even before he went into the cocoon. Hus tried to laugh, but it came out a bit strange.

Rather than his normal clicking sounds, they came out deeper and fuller. There was a kind of hum underneath it that gave Lucky a little shiver. The assistant came back with another needle and the doctor was finally able to take a blood sample from the Predantus, choosing a softer spot between the plates around his waist this time.

"May I keep your cocoon for analytical purposes?" He asked politely. Hus nodded his massive head and watched closely as his fluids went into the bottles for testing. He was then moved to the table with an overhead scanner and his entire body was scanned into the computers for the doctor to analyse later. "Okay big guy, I am all set for now. Why don't you go with Lucky here and check out your new home?"

"Thank you doctor. I will." Hus said before following his friend out into the hall.

"I set up a nice living quarters for us. Oh, I hope you don't mind staying in a suite with me? I already had them install a dry bath and some food dispensers with things you like in them for when you woke up." He babbled as he led the huge Predantus through the hallways. They got quite a few looks from passersby, but not because he was a bug, just because he was big.

"That would be... niccce. Thank you for thinking of me." He replied as they proceeded to the rooms set out for them. Lucky had already been staying in them, so he taught Hus the code for the door and showed him around the place. When he was done, they sat in the main chamber to talk about what had been going on while Hus was in the cocoon.

Lucky told him about the anti-pirate division and the welcoming they had all received from the Commander through Rhian. He admitted they were good friends now, and blushed a little when he spoke about talking to him about Hus and his people. Hus was interested in this new development with his old friend. Not the least because all the furnishings seemed oversized just for him.

"Lucky, why is your face changing colour? Are you sssick? Maybe you ssshould go to the medical cccentre." He cocked his head to the side and watched the colour deepen with concern. Lucky chuckled a bit and shook his head.

"No Hus, I am not sick. I... I was talking to Rhian about his changes and... he said it is because he is Syn's mate." Lucky couldn't meet Hus' eyes when he spoke. Hus was confused. Was Lucky turning colour because he mated with someone? That made him strangely upset. The question was why it would make him feel uneasy like this.

"I see, does this mean you have mated with someone while I was in my changes?" Hus asked politely. Lucky's eyes widened, realising the mistake.

"Oh! NO, no. I mean, I decided who I would like to mate with, I think. I just haven't officially asked them, just sort of... well... doesn't asking someone to live with you sort of mean...ah." Lucky was scratching his head nervously and wouldn't look at Hus. It took a nearly a minute for the thick bug to figure out what Lucky was saying to him.

Traditionally his people didn't move in together until mated, but he was a long way from home so he didn't get it right away. Lucky went to a lot of trouble to outfit this place for them, and he was sitting there looking a little sick as he tried to form the words outright. Lucky was nervous because he was trying to ask him to be his mate?

"Lucky, I... we are not just different ssspeciesss, I am much bigger than you. I would never wisssh to harm you, even accidentally." Hus watched in consternation as Lucky's eyes began dripping liquid and he made this weird hiccupping sound.

"I know! You are so nice. I just thought, if Rhian and Syn could do it then why not me too? I mean, can we try? You could stop if it doesn't work... or... maybe we could just... I don't know! I just don't want you to leave me." He was visibly upset and floundering for a way for it to work. He had a lot longer to think about it and it still terrified him. Now even more than Hus was out and it was on the verge of maybe happening.

"Lucky... I will not leave you if you do not wisssh it. After what I have been through... I do not think I can ever have another male take me. I am sssorry. I jussst cannot complete the ritual." Hus was distressed. As much as he liked the idea of being with Lucky, in his mind there was no way.

"That's okay! In my culture you don't have to. Sometimes just one person will be the... er... one doing the... what do you call it?" He hesitated as he tried to convince Hus.

"Coding?" Hus offered unsure. Lucky nodded vigorously.

"Yes! The coding. So, you could do the coding part and I wouldn't have to do it back because you don't seem to need it like the other Predantus. Right? I understand if you can never do it the other way, really I do. I don't care. There are other things we can do together. That's what I was ...er, blushing about." He caught the fact that he was now staring earnestly at Hus and his cheeks pinked again.

Hus thought it was very cute. The little tan boy was very small, but he had grown up bigger in the time they were out patrolling and even more so in the time he was cocooned. He was not as big as some of the humans he had seen here, but he was strong and capable. Hus was very grateful for Lucky's understanding of his circumstances, and it was somewhat doubtful he might meet another willing mate.

"Alright Lucky. For you I will try." Hus finally conceded. Lucky let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding in relief. Then he started internally panicking at the thought of having sex for the first time... with a giant bug. Rhian had warned him to prepare himself, and the other guy with a Predantus had told me to get lots of rest. He didn't talk about what he did with his mate with me, just seemed really embarrassed.

"Okay. Uh, I have to do some preparing. Rhian told me I have to get ready for you first. Maybe we can try in a day or two, after you get settled in here?" Lucky suggested. Hus agreed graciously and suggested Lucky get some sleep while he had something to eat. He had been sleeping for some time already before he emerged, so he was not tired.

Lucky slept fitfully. He was understandably nervous. First thing he did when awaking was to go and talk to Rhian. He was hyperventilating a little when he told him Hus had said yes. Rhian did what he could to calm the boy, reminding him that Hus was his friend and he needed to trust him. He also went through everything that Lucky had to do beforehand.

Hus on the other hand went to Syn for advice on how not to kill his best friend while attempting to mate him. Although the other Predantus was much smaller than him, he was also much larger than his mate and had experience mating the humans. Syn's advice was simple: grab the bed, do it from behind, and go slow. Hus thought he could manage that.

When they met up later, they kind of felt like awkward youths going on a blind date. Who was supposed to start? Were they supposed to talk normally before, or should they just...? Lucky began to laugh and Hus made his new, strange sounds back as they realised how funny the whole situation was. That also seemed to relax them both, and Lucky was able to gain the courage to grab Hus' limb and pull him towards the sleeping chamber.

"So, uh, supposedly you guys are self lubricating. Kinda gross really, but it will save us some time according to the screens I looked up." Lucky said as he stripped off his clothing. Hus needed Lucky to help him remove the casual skirting he had been given the first day out of the shell.

"Did you want to do any of the kissing thing, or the touching thing that the others spoke of?" Hus asked him. Lucky looked a little bit hopeful, so Hus got down on the bed as low as he could manage. That allowed the boy to climb up and check out the new spiking around his face, also to run his fingers over the big fibres to make Hus hum.

"Wow, these are so neat." He breathed as he ran his hands down the length of them. The thrumming coming from Hus was intense. His mouth opened wide and the sound vibrated from deep in his chest. Lucky gasped at the sight of his teeth. They were sharp and filled his massive jaws. He couldn't help wanting to stroke down his jaw and touch those massive teeth.

That startled Hus, whose eyes opened wide just in time to see Lucky lean down and lick one big incisor tooth. He shuddered at the feeling, and that encouraged Lucky to do it again. This time he did it up the length of his canine. He nibbled along the edges of his mouth as he continued stroking his fibres. Hus had never felt like this before. It was wonderful.

"Hmmm, my plate isss ssshifting Lucky." He pulled away to tell the boy. Lucky nervously looked down to see what was happening. He hesitantly ran his hands down the Predantus' body plates until he was touching the shifted one. Hus flinched a little, but Lucky murmured lovingly to him.

"You are so beautiful. I can't believe you said yes. It made me so happy, Hus. I can't begin to tell you..." He leaned down and kissed along the sensitive edges of his plates and when he finally got to the open area below, Hus was relaxed again. Enough that he didn't flinch when Lucky darted out his tongue to taste the soft flesh of his belly.

"Lucky, I will not be able to hold back my sssex organ if you continue." He hissed at the boy. Lucky grinned and lapped at the skin, fascinated by the movement he felt underneath as Hus' organs began to move. The slimy column of skin started to grow out of his belly and Lucky reached out to grasp it in his hand. It slid through his palm with ease, the skin soft and the lubricant thick enough to leave behind a coating.

Hus enjoyed the feeling of Lucky's hands on him. It was so different from what he had experienced before that his mind did not even connect the two. He pushed the boy forwards onto the bedding, standing with his hands against the back wall for balance. Then he crawled forward while Lucky smeared the goop from one hand in the spot Hus knew he would enter.

Lucky pulled it with his fingers until it softened enough for Hus to ease in his tip. He chanted to himself in his head to go slow, but it was so difficult! Lucky was making soft noises, like sighs and whimpers. It was enchanting and distracting. He did his best to lengthen himself out while his member slithered its way deep inside his new mate's hole. It was hot, and even as Lucky began sweating and panting in distress, Hus went deeper.

"Hus... I... I can't..." The boy whimpered. He felt like his insides were going to burst as Hus filled him up with his sex organ. Hus stopped moving, letting the boy adjust to having him inside.

"Yes, you can and you are... my sssweet mate. What a brave little human you are. Ssso pretty." He ran the backs of one clawed hand down Lucky's side as his legs shook from the effort of staying up. He felt shudders begin to wrack his body and Hus dug his claws into the wall as he braced for the tightening inside his mate's insides. It was like the boy was milking him with his insides.

Hus waited for the feeling to pass, holding on to climax until Lucky was yet again relaxed. He knew he would expand with his seed, so he did not want to distress the boy further while he adjusted. The shudders subsided gradually and Hus relaxed. Suddenly though, he felt hot. Waves of heat washed over him, making his head spin.

His claw tensed and the metal underneath screamed at the tearing. Lucky tried to look back, but all he saw was Hus with his head back and mouth open wide. A strange sound emerged, a thrumming that was deep and booming. It sent shivers through Lucky as he felt the slide of skin within him, like a pulsing in time to the thrumming.

It expanded, almost painfully, and Lucky gasped in surprise. A second time it shrunk down and then widened out until tears were running down Lucky's face. It was so tight! He reached back to push at Hus, unable to speak a word with the overload of sensations as he tried to accommodate Hus. The Predantus was in some sort of trance, oblivious to the pleas of the boy in front of him.

Lucky thought he was going to pass out the next time the feeling came, then he realised it. Something was moving inside. He felt Hus expand and whatever it was moved past the opening of his hole and was pushed deeper and deeper inside. Each time his hole was pushed open, he felt another pass through on the same path as the last.

He was filling up, both with fluid and soon... whatever those things were. He felt Hus' sex retreating slowly as they reached the end and were left deep inside. He felt sick, his stomach bloated with the heavy feeling. He felt Hus start to shiver as the last one left him and he slid out the rest of the way. He panted, and carefully detached his bleeding claw from the destroyed wall.

"What... what was that." Lucky gasped as he collapsed on the bed on his knees. The Predantus fluids dripped from his hole along with a bit of bright red blood. Hus came down out of his trance and looked at the poor boy in horror. He was shaking like a leaf, and Hus was frantic with worry. This was not what he was expecting at all!

"I... I will call the doctor. Don't move!" He muttered. He went to the communicator and paged for the doctor, the one that had seen him when he awoke, and said it was an emergency. It was not ten minutes later that the man walked in and followed the sounds of Lucky's moans to the sleeping chamber. What he saw when he got there was enough to even make him stop dead in his tracks.

"Holy black holes. Did you try to breed him? I should have come to talk to you two sooner I guess." He was taking out a scanner and a tablet, telling Lucky that everything was going to be okay. Hus watched carefully, feeling oddly protective of the small human and trying not to hiss at the doctor every time he touched his boy.

"What is going on? Rhian didn't tell me anything about this..." Lucky gasped as the doctor ran the scanner over him and tapped on the tablet, raising his brow when the readings came up.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" He asked them. Hus petted his human's head gently as he waited for the man to just tell them.

"Spit it out doc." Lucky swore and arched as something shifted inside.

"Well, I have to get a sample of your seed and syringe it inside you in the next two days or the eggs he dropped may go bad and poison you. Hus apparently has morphed into what is known as a changeling queen. He's male, but he is also female now. It can happen when a Predantus morphs around the same sex. Since you and I were the only ones here during the transformation, we probably caused it."

"Now the good news is you are going to be just fine and both of you are going to be daddies if you decide to fertilize. The bad news is... you are going to feel like shit for the next five months regardless. Should I congratulate you guys? Do you need some time to think? Talk things over?" The doctor looked at two shocked faces and nodded in understanding as he packed up his stuff.

"...You... you impregnated me?" Lucky whispered. He looked a little sicker, but considering everything that they both just heard, Hus was not surprised when he leaned over and threw up a little. Hus rubbed circles on his back with the backs of his claws and hummed to him in a low, soothing tone.

"I am ssso sssorry Lucky. I had no idea that would happen. It is the firssst time I have ever coded another... actually the firssst time I have wanted to be with another being. If you do not want them, maybe we can asssk the doctor... to..." He sounded so mournful as he tried to speak of it, Lucky didn't have the heart to let him go on. He put his hand up to stop him, and took some deep breaths.

"Do you swear you will never leave me?" He asked Hus forcefully. The Predantus blinked and nodded faintly.

"Of course. You are my life mate now." He replied seriously. Lucky closed his eyes and took another deep breath.

"Of all the shitty, no good luck... Okay, I will have them. I can't believe I am saying this... Hus, you have to explain all this to the Commander and figure out where in the universe we are going to put them. I am going to see the doctor and figure out how this is going to work." He gestured to his distended stomach and then rolled carefully to his feet. An ooze of fluid came out and he just glared at Hus.

Hus was oblivious in his joy, crushing the boy to the side of him awkwardly in a strange hug and humming even louder. Lucky rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the little smile that pulled at his lips when Hus tried to help him dress to go out. Then he grinned as he realised he still had to tell Rhian about what happened. He was going to be so shocked!

(OMG! I finally did an Mpreg... *throws up a little in joy and distress* GODs help us all...