Tessa
“By order of the Fertility Sector, all women between the ages of 20 and 28 are invited to undergo a mandatory medical evaluation for inclusion in the Species Restoration Program. All participants are guaranteed clean housing, unlimited resources, and financial compensation for their families.”
It had been a week since the Alien Government announced the official decree on mandatory recruitment for the fertilization and restoration of the species.
Human species.
Two years ago, after a devastating nuclear war, Earth was turned into a faceless, endless gray-black desert rock devoid of life. Everything was destroyed, crushed, and burned with no hope of regeneration. The surviving population was evacuated to Aetheris, an alien planet whose rulers agreed to a settlement treaty. It was our only chance at survival, though the conditions were brutal.
Life after the disaster became a slow, painful endurance test. Evacuated to the margins of Aetheris, the human race lived in a cramped ghetto, inhabiting the barren, desolate edges of this alien world. We were forced into hard physical labor, mining and processing Aetherium, the rare ore that fueled their economy.
My people were exploited to the limit. We worked exhausting, sleepless shifts just to earn mere survival: tasteless paste over dry rice, and stale air smelling of sulfur and heavy Aetherium fumes. Our streets were gray, filthy, and suffocating. Our existence was so miserable that I often thought it would have been better if the nuclear war had claimed us all.
Most of all, I hated our damn jailers, the aliens.
For a whole week, I agonized over ways to avoid this recruitment. Right up until the moment the sleek, polished glass-and-steel transport arrived outside my tin container, I foolishly believed I could escape.
The vessel carried us far beyond the high, barbed borders of the human ghetto and straight into the heart of Aetheris. It brought us to lush, opulent parks rich in oxygen, blooming with exotic trees and vibrant flowers.
I breathed in the fresh, sweet air, feeling my chest expand with a sudden, overwhelming rush of life.
After a series of grueling tests, the results were in: my fertility and reproductive functions were at their absolute peak. I was deemed the perfect candidate for the program, the transformation into a human cow, a fertile incubator designed to produce the labor force for our captors.
How wonderful.
Now, I waited in the Fertility Sector for the Supreme Commander, the one assigned to guide me through every step of the process. Every embarrassing, intimate detail of becoming a lush, milk-filled, fertile human cow.
My stomach twisted with a volatile mix of nervousness and dread. I stared at the velvety, heart-shaped petals of a glowing pink flower swaying in the warm breeze, bathed in the twilight of two celestial moons, one violet, one turquoise, shining in the pearlescent night sky.
Heavy, decisive footsteps shattered my trance. Through the dense tangle of pink and blue creepers, I heard him approaching. I tried to calm my racing heart, but a wave of heat washed over my tired body.
The footsteps drew closer, steady and commanding. My breath hitched in my throat as he stepped into view.
I had never seen one of them so close, so clearly. And this wasn’t just any alien.
“Greetings, Tessa. I am Supreme Commander Tarkon.”
His voice was deep, resonant, and impossibly smooth. It seemed to vibrate through the air, making the surrounding flora tremble as the glowing petals shifted hue under his presence. His tone carried absolute authority. If his voice could command alien nature itself, what would it do to my human body?
A hot flush crept up my neck. My voice failed me completely.
“As you have been informed, you are here for the human cow program to ensure the survival of your kind,” Tarkon continued, his gaze locked onto mine. “Humanity is precious to us, and we will spare no resources to see your species thrive. You will have total comfort, luxury, and care. You were chosen because you are extraordinary, Tessa, and I will personally ensure your body achieves its fullest potential.”
I stood before him, completely spellbound. He was well over six feet tall, towering, muscular, and terrifyingly handsome. He made me feel delightfully small. I had sworn to hate him, but standing beneath his massive frame, taking in his broad, exposed chest and the long, shimmering gray horns curving from his head, my anger dissolved. He moved with a calm, noble grace. Instead of rage, an intoxicating mixture of trepidation and dark excitement pooled low in my belly.
“Take this. It is the first dose,” he murmured softly.
A maid offered a glass of water, and I swallowed two bright pink pills directly from his large, pearlescent hand. His gray skin was dusted with tiny, shimmering scales that caught the light.
“Come. Let me show you to your quarters.”
His long, muscular gray tail slid around my waist, resting possessively against my hip as he guided me toward a transparent glass dome a few hundred meters away. The bitter pink pill lingered in my dry throat, but all I could focus on was the cool, velvet texture of his scaled tail wrapped snugly around my bare skin.
