FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

My stuff is copyrighted, so NO takee!

The Karn Dominion, Prologue

This prologue is to give the reader a basic background to my "The Karn Dominion" series. It gives a basic description of the concept that the series is based on, and saves a lot of time by not having to work it into every story so the reader will know what the heck is going on. If you've read it before just skip it!

It has been approximately fifteen years since the Karn invaded the earth, taking over completely with only minor incidents of resistance. They did not invade with armies and super weapons, though that was always an option in extreme cases. Their weapon was a simple one against which there was no defense. Using automated probes they unleashed a broad range of different mutagen viruses into the atmosphere of the planet selected for colonization. The specially designed mutagen viruses would physically and mentally transform the dominant intelligent race, in this case humans, into many different kinds and species of human/animal hybrids that would be of the most use to the colonists who would soon follow in the steps of the conquest. It took little more than a month for the viruses to run their course and completely destroy the native civilization and reduce the inhabitants to almost helpless confused animals. Most of the initial colonists were members of other races who were subjects of the Karn, little more than slaves themselves. They would round-up and train the waiting transformed and docile hybrids and use their labor to help develop the local resources and prepare the way for their Masters.

The Karn are an ancient space-faring race and extremely advanced technologically. Their empire, called "The Karn Dominion", covers millions of light years and includes untold thousands of planets. Even they do not truly know how large it is. Their tailored viruses were completely immune to any kind of antidote or antibiotics as they attached themselves directly to the hosts DNA and RNA and transformed them from the inside out. The change was irreversible, and a new Hybrid species was created. The hybrids were viable, and would breed true. However the breeding was strictly controlled by animal husbandry specialists just as with any other livestock, intelligent or otherwise. Depending on the degree of hybridization the change could take from only a few days up to a month at the most. Once "domesticated" the hybrids were kept under further control through the use of drugs to control their breeding and keep their intelligence dampened. The vast majority were perfectly content with their new lives as beasts of burden and livestock. Each performed a specific function, or in some cases multiple functions and their masters took good care of their valuable resources.

Most humans did not even realize they were under attack until the colonists arrived and began to assimilate the new world into The Karn Dominion. Many thought it was just some sort of horrible plague, with the possible exception of some of the more brilliant geneticists and other scientists. Some blamed it on their own governments. During the "plague" a great many died, or were killed, and many short wars were fought before the plague had completely decimated the population rendering it mostly incapable of resistance. Some committed suicide, unable to accept what was happening to them; still others were murdered by other terrified humans in their desperation to stop the plague from spreading. The death rate among the very young and very old was high. Still far fewer died then if it had been an actual armed invasion. It took approx one week for human civilization to completely collapse and in one month the transformations were complete. We became the very animals the invaders would use to colonize our own planet, intelligent livestock that were more than animals, but less then slaves. We would be used to provide the labor and other services to prepare or own world for our new Masters

The Karn Dominion, Surrogate

By William W. Kelso

When the invasion started I was working part time at a lumber company in Anaheim California to help pay for school. My name was Jimmy Burton then, but that was long ago and in another life. Now I am called by the name my Masters gave me, though in a strange way I was allowed to pick it because of what I became, and am.

My fellow workers and students and I first heard about the outbreak of a new virus of some kind, but pretty much ignored it as it was not that unusual. New flu's and stuff were always breaking out, the news stations would yell about an epidemic, then in a week or two it would die down. Same-o, same-o. But this time it was very different as within two days lots of people were sick, and it wasn't isolated, it was worldwide. By the third day most businesses had to shut down because so many employees called in sick or just didn't show up. By the end of the week most TV and radio stations were off the air and the emergency and police services had broken down. It was literally hell on earth for the next several weeks, a time of terror and anarchy.

I barricaded myself in my apartment along with my roommate, a nice Mexican kid named Louis. He was my lover too as I'm, or was, Gay. Now I don't know what you'd call me. We hoped we could wait out the plagues as evidently there was more than one "strain". Of course we were already infected by then as was everyone else, and Louis started showing symptoms first. He was sick and had a very high fever and medicine was useless. I took care of him as best I could because I loved him and would not abandon him, even when I got sick myself. When he began to change physically and grow fur and his body started changing shape I almost panicked and ran, but by then I was very sick too. The amount of time it took for a transformation to run its course depended on the level or "Stage" of the hybridization. The higher the Stage, the longer the period it took to reach your new hybrid form. I didn't know it then, or for a much later period of time, that I was becoming a very special Stage 5 hybrid, one of a very few highly specialized hybrids of my new species.

Louis and I suffered horribly for weeks as our transformations ran their courses. He became a Human/Cervine hybrid, or a deer. A young Buck to be precise, but I had no idea which specific kind. All I know is he had dusky tan fur, antlers, hooves, and could no longer talk. Later I would find he had become a Stage 3 hybrid. My own change took even longer, his was done in three weeks, and mine lasted over a month. My own outward physical changes weren't as advanced as his, but later I would find that I had been changed far more than most hybrids. Most of the pain of my own change was internal, I felt like my guts were trying to crawl out of my body as they churned and writhed inside of me and I wanted to die because of the pain and nausea. Louis probably saved my life by taking care of me after his own change ended before mine. The last week of my change was sheer agony and I spent most of my time in the bathroom trying to vomit but unable to. Louis gently forced me to drink water and cold soup as the power had long gone off. He held and comforted me while I cried and was delirious much of the time. We got each other through our traumatic changes from one life to another as entire new species. As the our old world ended forever our love kept us alive.

Shortly after my change ended and I was able to function again we left the apartment because we had no choice. The food was long gone, at least what we could eat as Louis was very restricted in his diet now, and the water pressure finally went off. It was leave or starve. We emerged into hell on earth. It looked like a war zone; there were abandoned vehicles, both civilian and military, everywhere. Some buildings had burned and it was obvious there had been a lot of looting and rioting towards the end. The stench was horrendous from the dead bodies, the older ones still human in appearance but the newer ones things like us. And there were herds of confused terrified beasts roaming everywhere, seeking safety in numbers. We saw all sorts of herbivores and not a few carnivores, mainly dogs and cats of different types. The cats were not house cats either, but large predators. We instinctively avoided them even though they didn't seem to be a threat; they were just as terrified and confused as the rest of us. Finally we fell in with a large herd of mainly goats and deer with a few equines mixed in. But I didn't fit in anywhere, compared to the others I was the WEIRD one.

I had no idea what I was supposed to be, I was unlike any animal I had ever heard of or seen. I was about five feet tall and stocky, and looked more like a hamster or bear than anything else. I was covered in thick wooly reddish gold fur, had a bear like head with short muzzle with large chisel like front teeth and fangs making up the rest of my dental array, a short stubby tail, and still appeared to be male as I had a penis and testicles though my penis was usually withdrawn inside a sheath except when I relieved myself. While I had a fairly large scrotum it was wrinkled and collapsed looking and my testicles seemed to abnormally small. I still had hands with four fingers and thumb, but I now had fairly large nasty looking claws, but they were digging type claws as opposed to weapons though they were also effective when put to that use as I would find out. My feet were more like paws now, with similar claws and heavy pads on my soles. I did not need shoes or clothes, and neither did the rest of the hybrids. We were self-efficient in that regard, and nudity taboos were long gone now. In fact I was pretty warm most of the time in the warm California sun and spent most of my time with my muzzle open panting to help stay cool. In fact there were no longer any races either, a hybrid was a hybrid no matter if he or she had been white or black before the change, there was no way to even tell.

I may have looked something like a bear or hamster, but I knew I wasn't one as I had some other features no ursine ever had. For one thing I was a marsupial now; I have a large pouch that starts about where my nipples used to be and runs down all the way to my waistline, and running my hand inside it I found six large nipples. It was lined with soft downy fur and felt slightly moist on the inside. It freaked me out big time at first, but I soon grew used to it. The other hybrids looked at me and didn't know what to think even though I didn't tell them about the pouch, because of my thick fur it was hard to see the opening and I kept my mouth shut about it as I was still really worried as to what their reaction would be, plus I was scared shitless. I was also lonely despite the size of the herd. I was the only one of my kind.

But there was one big advantage I had that was very useful and the other hybrids recognized this, and despite my weirdness they accepted me anyway. They didn't care what I looked or smelled like as intolerance was a thing of the past too. Despite our new species we knew everyone had once been a fellow human, so we all stuck together and with few exceptions the carnivores "carnies" got along fine with the "browsers". But my big advantage was I could still talk and read and write, whereas the other new hybrids seemed to be, well, retarded, some to a much greater degree than others. The others were limited to the sounds and vocalizations of their "donor animal" species. Horses neighed, goats and sheep bleated, deer belled, etc. but none could talk. I became a "de facto" leader of the herd as I was able to find food sources by reading signs, looking in the phone book, etc. So we wandered more or less at random from food source to food source. Since our herd was made up entirely of herbivores we eventually moved into the countryside for the sources of grazing available there. I was the only omnivore in the herd, but I could eat almost anything and grass and leaves filled me up as well as anything though I wouldn't turn down a bowl of beef stew if I could get one.

One thing that also changed greatly was sex and our attitudes toward it. The various species began to pair off, the males often with harems of two or more females. There wasn't much fighting as the females picked their mates for the most part. Even Louis soon had a small harem of three does. He was just no longer interested in my sexually and I had no interest in him, but we still loved each other. What we had been through made us closer than ever. Soon females began to come into estrus and nature ran its course. Usually the "lovers" tried to find a little privacy, but it was hard in a big herd like ours. So public mating was not uncommon as sometimes the urgency and need removed any qualms about public copulation. But the rest of us politely ignored it and gave the mating pairs as much room as possible. And so within a few months there were a great many very pregnant females, and shortly after that plenty of lambs. Fawns, and foals running around. Like the animal donors the young were already capable of standing and following their dams almost from birth. It was a survival trait the hybrids had inherited. The births were also, thank God, much easier and less hard on the females, they usually recovered very quickly. I never saw a birth related death of either the mother or the young. If anything we were perfectly healthy and suited to our new existence. The one exception was me, I was the only one of my "kind" and I still had no idea what the hell I was. And watching the others find mates and life companions made me feel even lonelier.

After about a year of wandering we were finally "rounded up" by the new owners of our own planet. There wasn't much cover in the open range we had chosen for our new home and the aliens, a lizard like race called the Krill, had used sonic projectors to drive us into large collection pens. The herd had reacted as any herd, the rams and stallions had sounded the alarm and they had stampeded exactly as the "cowboy" lizards" had planned. "Ye-hiss! Round'em up!" Being a little more in control and not responding to built in instincts I had tried to get away by going to ground, but they found me anyway during a sweep to pick up any "stragglers". I knew I didn't want to have anything to do with these creepy lizard things, but when I made a desperate break for it they stunned me like the rest. I doubt if one in a hundred of us got away as the lizards were horribly efficient. I never saw Louis again, and I still cry when I think about him. I could only hope he had a good life wherever his Masters put him.

_____________________________________________________________________

Sub-commander Kraw was quite pleased with how the round-up was proceeding so far. This was a very large herd of mingled species and it was a big operation. They had waited so long only because the herd was so large and they had not had adequate resources until now. It was better to wait in order to corral as many of the hybrids as possible as otherwise those that escaped would grow wary and learn how to avoid similar situations. They were animals, but they were very smart animals. The whole operation had been planned months before, and now it was his task to supervise the enterprise.

He was quite pleased as the number of catches and different types of species were reported. There were some very rare and desirable ones mixed in with the more common livestock. Then he received a report that made his lean back on his tail and take notice, a Surrogate had been found! The Overseers would be most pleased at this catch! Oh yes, he hissed in pleasure at the thought of the rewards he and his soldiers would receive from their grateful superiors, there would be many trips to the pleasure barracks and extra rations all around. The others of his command unit who had heard the report were also giving soft hisses of anticipation. He authorized the immediate promotion of those directly involved in the capture and their transfers to more preferred duties if they so desired, then issued orders for the animal to be brought directly to the command unit. He would personally escort it to its new home. He would take no chances with this catch!

Kraw examined the unconscious animal lying on the pallet. It did resemble an Overseer to some degree, but there were noticeable differences. It was in good health he was relieved to see, some of the poor animals they rounded up were close to starvation, mere skin and bone. He was not an animal lover, the nasty things stank, but it did bother him to see another suffer no matter what they were. He made sure his unit always carried fodder and feed so the most emaciated animals could be promptly fed and cared for, and they also had an attached veterinary unit to provide medical care if needed. It was amazing how much more docile they became after a little show of kindness and genuine concern. That quickly earned them the animals trust.

He called the head of the Veterinary unit since he was an Overseer to inform him of the capture. Retchna was an amiable Overseer and the Krill liked him, so Kraw was pleased for his friend. When Retchna arrived he was overjoyed, and stood looking down at the sleeping animal.

"A Surrogate! At last another one! It seems for some reason very few survived the transformation period. He is only the fourth in this entire district. This will make a big difference Sub-commander!" Retchna reached down and gently stroked the animals pelt with tender concern, chittering softly. "It is very healthy too, which is a big relief. The last one was almost dead before we found it. You have done well COMMANDER Kraw, I will see to the confirmation of your promotion as soon as we return to base."

Kraw's crest rose in delight, the promotion to Commander from Sub-commander was a major step for a Krill his age. The promotion was an unexpected, but most welcome, development. And of course this also meant other promotions would follow for his officers. His fellow Krill hissed their approval, tapping their claws together to show their support. He was a strict, but fair, commander and greatly liked by his troops. They considered him one worth "dying for" without question as they knew he would never waste their lives unless he took the same risks himself. The hissing and tapping grew louder as the word spread. With a quick command he assigned his personal command hover to transport and escort Retchna and his precious cargo to the main depot. His driver leapt into immediate action with a crisp salute and a loud "I obey, COMMANDER" as he went to start the hover and load the animal. Kraw's crest rose even higher. Yes, he thought, Commander does sound very nice.

_____________________________________________________________________

When I woke up I was lying in actual bed, thought it was somewhat different from the ones I had been used too. Lately I had just been sleeping "au natural" under trees or in the open in a communal "pile" with other hybrids for mutual warmth and comfort. Such sleeping arrangements were very intimate, but not sexual. All we wanted was the close comfort of our friends. The bed was more of a large round pad with no sheets and just a kind of lightweight oversized comforter. I was also immediately aware of a new scent, one that smelled familiar, and I suddenly realized it smelled much like me! And from the traces several different animals had used, or were using, this same "bed". I sat up groggily and looked around. I was in a room, a human built room, and except for the large bed there wasn't much else. Then, also from the smell, I noticed a small end table with a large bowl of fruit on it. My stomach growled and with a happy grunt I began to devour the delicacies. I hadn't had any fresh fruit other then oranges for months. There were apples, pears, peaches, and some sort of sweet tuber like thing I didn't recognize. I was so busy stuffing my muzzle I didn't hear the door open and didn't know I was no longer alone until I caught the scent of the intruder.

I turned, a half eaten apple still stuck in my mouth, to find a strange new animal standing and looking at me with what I recognized as a very happy expression on his muzzle. And I instantly knew it was a "he" from his scent even though there was no sign of sexual organs. We just stood there for a minute or two, both our noses quivering and twitching as we smelled one another, and stared. He smells kind of like me, and even looks like me! I felt a silly giddiness at not being alone anymore.

"Ummff!" I tried to say something, then realized the apple was still in my mouth and spit it out with a "Phalw!" and put it back in the bowl. Gross, hope he didn't see that. "Um, I'm sorry, I said, I was hungry; I hope that wasn't someone else's fruit." He just gave a big smile, and I thought it was a very nice smile.

"Oh no, Surrogate, the food was for you! We hope it met with your approval. If not we have other fruits and vegetables to chose from, even some meat if you desire." He approached me until he was fairly close, then leaning forward he took a deep breath with his nose almost touching my own. I did the same and took a deep breath of his scent; it seemed the perfectly natural thing to do. I was not in the least bit disturbed by his closeness. He smiled again, and said, "You have a lovely scent; you do not know how welcome you are."

"Um, I said, you smell nice too, very, um, masculine. And the food was delicious, thank you." It never occurred to me that he was speaking English too until later.

He beamed and made a little churring sound from deep in his throat which I knew meant he was pleased that I was pleased, and also appreciated my polite comment about his scent. "Have you had enough for now? Do you want more? I can get whatever you want, you only need to ask."

I shook my head "no". "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm stuffed for now. The apples were especially good. It's been so long since I've had any. Um, I said, where am I, and who are you?"

He wrung his hands together in apparent embarrassment. "I am so sorry, Surrogate. I am a Tawn, my name is Retchna and I am the head Veterinarian of this facility. I am in charge of caring for the animals being trained here. You were picked up during a round-up expedition yesterday. I am so sorry it took us so long to find you; it must have been horrible living with animals like that. Now, please, if you will come with me I do need to give you an exam to make sure you are as healthy as you appear, and you also need some special hormone shots to supplement the limited local diet. Unless you would rather rest some more or have some more food first?" He looked at me anxiously.

Frankly I was still pretty much at a loss as to what was going on. What the hell was a Tawn, or a Retchna? Sounded like the sound you made when you hurled. And why did he look, and smell, kind of like me? He did smell nice though. I decided that having a look around sounded like a plan, so agreed to go with him which caused him to give a chittering sound of delight.

"Excellent!" he squeaked. "This way please, Surrogate." Why the hell is he calling me that? I thought as I followed him out the door. As we left the room I noticed the door had no lock and there was no sign of a guard either, sure are trusting, I thought. I followed him down a corridor and looking in some open doorways saw more of the large bed/pads, so figured this must be a dorm of some kind. I didn't see any others like him or me, but could smell the scents of many different similar animals. We came to a pair of double doors and stepped outside into a lovely summer day. It was slightly overcast and a pleasant warm wind was blowing. We both stood there for a minute, our noses working overtime taking in the smells. I heard a clopping sound and looking towards it I saw a pony cart approaching. I was shocked to see it was being pulled by a pony hybrid, a mare, and the driver was another hamster/bear. As they went past the mare paid me no attention, but the driver almost fell over backwards trying to keep her eyes me, and she was definitely female as my nose told me so. But outwardly she also had no signs of her sex even though she was as nude as me and my escort. I realized that though I smelled similar to both of them, my own scent was different. If he's male, and she's female, then what the hell am I? "This way, please." Retchna said, indicating for me to follow.

We proceeded down a sidewalk to another building close by. The place looked very familiar for some reason, and when I saw the sign over the door to the building I knew where I was "University of California, Veterinary Medicine Department". UCLA! I thought. It hadn't changed much, but the "people" running it sure had. I followed my guide deeper into the building and he led me into what was obviously an examining room. I had mixed feelings about that, but decided to go along unless he pulled out some scalpels or tried to tie me down or something. Then it would be biting and clawing and freak out time all over his furry butt. But I needn't have worried.

He was the epitome of a polite professional doctor, my bad, Vet. He did the usual stuff and took my temperature, drew a little blood with something like a rubber bulb that didn't hurt at all, gave me several "shots" using the same kind of weird bulbs, looked in my eyes and large round ears, and poked and prodded me in the usual places. He seemed very pleased by his findings. I even endured it when he gave me what felt like a prostate exam. I did let out a guttural grunt at that intrusion, but he apologized for the "necessity" of it.

The only thing he did that really upset me was when he ran his hand down inside the pouch on my chest. I didn't like the intrusion at all, and the first time he tried I gave a low growl and wrinkled my lips showing my fangs, which kind of surprised me as I hadn't made a sound like that before. I was very sensitive about my pouch for some reason. He immediately stopped and looked at me, his muzzle wrinkled in thought. He apologized and waited for a few minutes until I had calmed down, then this time he tried a different, less clinical approach. He walked around behind me, then leaned forward and gently blew on the back of my neck so I could smell him and knew he was there. He took me by the shoulders and gently kneaded and caressed them and I felt myself respond with a sigh of pleasure as it did feel good. He slowly worked his hands over the front of my shoulders and downward until he reached the pouch opening and slowly slid one arm inside, but by this time I didn't care. What he was doing felt soo good! He rested his head on my shoulder and ran his tongue over my snout and I did the same thing as we "kissed". OMG, I thought, as his arm slid further into my pouch and started to fondle my nipples, I'm getting turned on by this, big time! I even felt a stirring in my crotch now as I felt my penis began to extend. With a deep guttural chuff of pleasure I threw my head back as he kept caressing me and licking my muzzle. "Ugggghh, Grrwwl!" I moaned. What the hell is happening! Then he slowly withdrew his arm and pulled away for me and I gave a low growling disappointed moan. What had he stopped! Why had he stopped? It had felt so good! I moaned again, and shook my head.

He walked around the table to face me again, and I could tell he was as aroused as I was. I just looked at him in confusion, not really understanding what had just happened, but still strangely disappointed he had stopped. He took a couple of deep breaths and smacked his lips. "I'm sorry, he said, I had to check your pouch and I let it to go too far, I almost let it get out of control. But I'm glad to say you're in perfect health Surrogate."

I shook my head and grunted a few times as my own "arousal" faded. I felt my penis withdraw and retract. I looked at him with big staring eyes and asked "What ARE you? What am I? That felt so good, yet so strange. I don't know what I am anymore! Am I male or female? Please, I asked with a soft whine, what AM I? I feel so damn strange!"

He looked at me, and then told me what I wanted to hear. Never in a million years have guessed what those answers would be, and those answers just raised even more questions.

Retchna sat down on a chair and looked at me frankly. "You are a very special kind of hybrid." he said. He offered me what looked like a big lump of maple sugar and joined me in eating one. It was the most delicious thing I'd ever had. "This is a supplement to our food we must have as most of the local fare lacks certain trace elements that my race, and now yours as well, require to stay healthy. You are what our race calls a "Surrogate". You are neither male nor female, and are sterile. You have no womb and your testes produce no sperm. However without you our race could not survive. We have three sexes, male, female, and Surrogate. You are a kind of go between the sexes and perform the functions of both male and female to a certain extent, plus you also care for and raise the young for the first year of their lives. You kind are very rare and are always created from a different species as that is one way our Masters control us and our breeding. You are very special and very precious to us, and will never want for anything."

"WHAT the hell are you talking about?" I said incredulously. "That has to go be the weirdest damn thing I've ever heard! THREE sexes! You guys are WEIRD! I DO NOT want to be involved in anything like that!" I stood up and looked around in a panic, how the hell do I get out of here!

He seemed genuinely sad and apologetic when he answered. "I know it is a shock, it always is when you become something else. You are a very special hybrid, essential to the survival of our race for you are now a Tawn like me. Your DNA has been merged with Tawn DNA to create what you now are. You designation is a Stage 5, Human/Tawn hybrid, function, Surrogate and nurse. The way it works is you mate with a male Tawn, he fills your testicles with his seed and your testicles produce a nutrient fluid that makes the sperm fertile and keeps those sperm alive indefinitely, then you mate with female Tawn until your loins have been emptied, then with a male again and so on. When the females give birth the pup, or pups, are immediately transferred to your pouch to nurse. When the pups have been weaned, which takes about a year, they are taken to a juvenile facility where they are raised and trained. By the time we are six we are full grown and ready to assume the duties our Masters assign us. Only males and females are born, like I said earlier a Surrogate such as you is always created."

"OH, NO FUCKING WAY!" I growled. I will NOT be a freak like that. You fix it or something, but I won't be a fuck toy for a bunch of weird hamster looking aliens!" With a deep growl I backed up against the table, my lips pulled back in a snarl.

To my surprise he just hung his head and seemed sad. "Please don't hate us. We have no choice in that matter either, it is the way our Masters control us. The only way we can reproduce is when they create Surrogates for us. We do not even know if we originally had three sexes or not, we have been slaves of the Karn for thousands of years beyond imagining and do not even know where we come from or where our home planet is. Like the other hybrids we were created to serve." He looked up at me and I realized he was crying! "Please don't hate me." He said in a soft voice.

I felt like a total dick. "But, I don't understand, aren't you and those slinky Lizard guys the Masters?" I asked. "I thought you were the invaders."

Keeping his head down he replied, "We are considered your Masters and you are supposed to address us that way, but we don't care if you do or not. We consider you a Tawn just like us, not an animal like the rest of the changelings. The Krill are another slave race, but they are subservient to us. We are the administrators, they are the security troops. And yes, we are invaders, but we did so at the orders of our own Masters, and now yours as well. It will be many years before our Masters come to claim their new world. We merely prepare the way." Then he looked up at me again, his eyes big and sad. "Please don't hate us, we need you so badly. You have no idea what you are to us."

With a soft moan I leaned against exam table. "This is just, just, so damned weird!" I said, my voice starting to break up. "What's happened to me, to my friends, to my world? Everything I knew is gone! What about my family, my mother and dad, my sisters? W-Where are they, WHAT are they now? I, I, I'm so scared!" I started to cry and put my muzzle in my hands as everything that had happened, and now this, all came crashing down on me like a ton of bricks and I started to wail and sob, my whole, weird, body shaking. He came and took me in his arms and I buried my face in his soft sweet smelling fur and he held me while I vented all the grief and horror of what had happened as he gently stroking my back, and I think he cried some too.

He took me back to the barracks, or dorm, or nest, or whatever the hell they, we, called it. I don't remember much of the trip, but he barked at a couple of other Tawn who curiously approached, and seeing my obvious distress they left again. He took me back to the room and tucked me into the large bed/pad, covering me with the comforter. When I woke some time later he was lying next to me, his arm thrown protectively over me, and he was snoring gently. I looked at him, his slightly open mouth with the rodent like teeth, teeth like mine, his thick pelt which was darker than mine, and I found I couldn't hate him. He was warm and smelled good and I was glad he was there as I just didn't want to be alone. I stared at the ceiling for awhile wondering what in hell the future held for me, this is just SO damn weird, until I fell asleep again. When I woke up again later he was gone, and panicking, I called out for him with a yelping bark before I even realized it. Turns out he was only in the bathroom and when he stuck his head out the door with a concerned expression I was embarrassed.

"Sorry, just had a bad moment there." He just smiled and ducked back into the bathroom. When he was done it was my turn, so I used the facilities, still the same old human ones, and joined him when I was done. I didn't shower though, just didn't feel a need for it. When I came out he was sitting on the bed waiting for me.

"Hungry? he asked, they're still serving the midday meal. If we hurry we can just make it, today is fresh spinach day!"

Spinach, I thought, yeeecch! But I WAS hungry. "OK, fine by me." I replied. So we headed on over to the old campus cafeteria which served the same purpose for the new management. As we went I saw more wagons and carts being pulled by more hybrids and on some the drivers were hybrids as well, all equine. There were horses, mules, ponies, and donkeys. Why the heck are space aliens using wagons? I thought. When I asked Retchna he said something about using available resources to save on costs or something along those lines. I guess it made sense when I realized just how far their supply line must be stretched.

It was kind of weird at first; everyone was so deferential to me. They're fawned over me and treated me like royalty. I felt horribly shy and am afraid I was pretty rude and ignored several friendly attempts to nuzzle, and held on to his arm. He preened and basked in the attention his charge was receiving. I noticed the ratio of male to female Tawn was about one male per twenty or more females. In fact Retchna was the only male in the place. We filled our plates and mine got a double helping of everything. When we picked a table and sat down just about everyone in the place tried to join us, and when he saw it was upsetting me he gave a couple of irate barks and the others got the word and left us alone, but anytime I looked up they would be staring at me. Creepy, but I found I got a strange rush out of it. Another thing I noticed was that ever since I had come in the scents of the other Tawn (by now I accepted I was one) subtly changed as they became, not really aroused, but responded to my own presence with extreme interest. The food was good, it was pretty much all veggies but there were also some more of the maple sugar lump things that were so good. I also found that I had changed my mind about raw spinach; I ate a bunch before I even realized what it was. He asked me if I liked it, and surprised that's what I was eating I could only nod "yes" with my mouth full.

Then there was a new development. All of a sudden the hubbub in the cafeteria quieted down again, and at the cessation of noise I looked up to see another couple of Tawn had come in, another male, and another Surrogate like ME! I almost choked on my salad and Retchna had to pound me on my back as I gagged and spit up partially chewed chunks of lettuce and spinach. A couple of other concerned Tawn rushed over to our table, but I was OK by then and was staring intently at the other one like me. And he/she/it (what do we call ourselves ANYway?) stared back at me just as intently. I turns out the male Tawn consider us to be "she's" and the female Tawn considers us to be "he's". The only ones who seem to have a problem with what to call us, are well, us! Like I said, it's weird, but it does work. I decided to call us "she's" as that sounded better then "it".

Retchna stood up and yelled at them, "Retner, Rilner, please join us! The spinach is excellent today! Come meet the new Surrogate!" They quickly loaded up their own trays and my fellow Surrogate kept her eyes on me the whole time, and I kept my eyes on her.

They came over to our table, and she sat down right next to me. While we stared at each other the two males started talking about something boring sounding. She was lighter colored then I was, but had black highlights to her fur. It was exotic looking as most Tawn, including myself, were one solid color with only minor toning. Like me she had external testicles and a sheath, but still "she" seemed to be the best term to use as we just didn't smell like males, or the true females. But our scent was closer to female then male. "You're pretty." I finally managed to say. "She" ducked her head and smiled shyly.

"Thanks." She said. "You are too. I heard there was a new Surrogate, I guess that must be you. How long have you, um, been domesticated?"

That's a weird way of putting it, I thought. "Uh, only three days." In an attempt at humor I added, "But I am housebroken." I replied. She seemed really surprised.

"Really? Then you, um, haven't, um, mated yet or paired with a male? Are you considering Retchna? He's pretty nice and has a good job."

"I'm not considering anything yet!" I said, somewhat taken aback. "I just got here and I don't know what to think yet about all this yet, it's so weird!"

"I'm sorry, she said, I've been here almost a year and really, it's not so bad once you get used to it. The others are real dears; they just love us to death, and they really do need us. It's a little hard at first, but once you've paired it gets a lot better."

"Paired?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, once you pick a male and pair with him he gives you his seed to pass to the females and takes care of you. It's kind of like a strange marriage. There are supposed to be enough of us Surrogates for every male who has been give permission to breed, but something went wrong. You're only the fourth in this whole district and there should be at least fifteen. We usually pair for good with a male, but because of the shortage of Surrogates we have to accept multiple pairings. It's really not so bad."

"Multiple pairings? Sounds kind of um, kinky." I said in a low voice.

"Oh, it IS.", she giggled. "We have very, um, active sex lives here. The others will be glad you're here, it will help to take some of the, er, responsibility off of our, um, shoulders."

I blinked as I thought about that, part of me a little shocked and part intrigued. Then suddenly I noticed her belly move and I heard a faint squeal. I'd thought she was a little on the chubby side, but now realized she had pups in her pouch. I looked at her in amazement and felt a strange yearning feeling pass over me, "May I?" I asked hesitantly.

She just smiled and turned to face me, and taking my hand she pressed it to her stomach. I felt something wiggle and there was another muffled squeal. "Ohhh" I said. She let me run my hand over her and I could feel more wiggling squealing pups and I was completely enchanted. "Ohhhhh" I said, "Ohhhh, they're calling." Unseen to me the two males smiled at one another, Retner with pride and Retchna with hope and longing. I put an ear to her stomach, "They're squeaking!" I said.

"They've been sleeping all morning, she said. Now they're awake and hungry and want Momma's attention." She reached inside her pouch and I tried to look, but all I got was scent of warm milk and pups and I felt a strange longing. "There, she said, the last ones found a nipple. Ouch, little lady is hungry!"

When they saw what I was doing several other Tawn joined our group and took turns feeling and listening to the pups. It was a very tender thing to watch. They would put their ear to her stomach like I had and make soft little squeaking sounds which the pups would sometimes answer, much to their delight. One female came over and nuzzled Rilner, who smiled and said "Your pup is big and strong, would you like to hold her Rutne?" She reached into her pouch again and took out a small pink wiggling thing and I strained to see. She handed it to the female named Rutne who cradled it to her chest and cooed and squeaked at it, her eyes only for her pup. The pup looked amazingly like a pink hairless hamster, it was the cutest thing I had ever seen. Finally Rutne reluctantly gave the pup back to Rilner and still looking over her shoulder went back to her own table. The rest left as well so Rilner could finish her lunch.

Rilner said to me in a soft voice, "It's so sad, this is the only time they get to see their pups. We're not even supposed to do it, but how can I say no? They take them away from us after a year, it's so not fair! They love them so much, I love them too. They took my first litter just last month, they cried so." And I noticed she had tears in her eyes, "They took my babies." Retner, seeing her distress, came over and hugged her and crooned. They were both so sad.

"That's not right!" I said indignantly. "How can they do that?"

Retchna just said in a resigned voice, "It has been that way for as long as we have served the Karn. We dare not question our Masters wisdom."

"Wisdom! I squealed, they sound like a bunch of assholes to me!" A few Tawn had shocked looks on their faces, but I heard a few muffled squeaks of laughter too and when someone dropped their tray that got even more guffaws of amusement. Retchna had a horrified look on his face and made shushing sounds. "Well, they DO!" I said.

As we left the cafeteria Retchna had a little talk with me about my lack of "respect" to our Masters. "Respect my ass!" I said. He couldn't help but give a giggling squeak of amusement. But I could tell he was serious though, so promised to watch my mouth in the future. But it would be hard. Assholes! I thought. I mean, who takes babies away from their mothers, or surrogates, or whatever!

I slowly came to accept my new life. Since I was not "paired" I was courted by the other unpaired males. Because of the lack of Surrogates I was of great interest to all the Tawn, male and female. Even females courted me though I wasn't ready to give them what they wanted yet, I think they were just glad to see me and hoped they might be picked for mating. Usually the paired male will decide which females his Surrogate should mate with, but because of the current great lack of Surrogates the rules were pretty lax. The more pregnant females the better even if a Surrogate had to carry more the six pups in her pouch. The limit was eight though or some health and feeding issues could develop. I was somewhat overwhelmed by the attention and treats and gifts that were showed on me. We had no real possessions, but we were allowed trinkets and some jewelry and soon I had a box overflowing with all sorts of neat stuff. I shared the treats with other Tawn, especially the Surrogates, and soon had a reputation for being generous.

I was bothered by the other hybrids I saw, the way they were being used as beasts of burden. Most weren't even allowed to talk, and when I complained to Retchna about he just said "It's not necessary for their functions" and didn't see anything wrong with it at all. The only ones I saw that could talk were Donkeys which were given some sort of collar that allowed them to talk so their Masters could give them orders and they could ask questions and give reports. I also saw a few hybrids that could still talk naturally and was told they were Stage 2's. At least they were all well treated and seemed to be perfectly happy with their "functions". It was horrible, but there was nothing I could do about it as I was just as much a changeling at they were and still had my own "functions" to perform, which I was looking forward too with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity. The other hybrids gave me the exact same respect they did their other "Masters" and I don't even think most knew I used to be human like them. I always had a bag of treats with me for the ponies and other equines I'd come across hitched to a rail waiting for their Masters to come back for them, and soon they would throw up their heads with a happy neigh! when they saw me coming. I went out of my way to make friends with the other hybrids and soon the ones that could talk let me know I was a "favorite Master" which made me feel good. The Donkey's were the sweetest little things, the way they cared for their charges was beautiful to see and the other equines loved them.

During the first couple of weeks I was there the hormones shots I had been given on a regular basis began to kick in and I became "receptive". It was another way the Karn controlled their "loyal" servants, without the shots I was effectively impotent as even though I could perform sex acts my testicles would not produce the nutrients that were necessary to make the male donors sperm fertile. I felt the change too; I began to respond more to the males courting me, and some were very nice. But from the start I was only really interested in one, Retchna had been good to me and helped me to understand and accept my new life with a minimum of trauma. He was caring and concerned for my comfort and well being, and his gentle care of the "animals" in his charge and his genuine concern for them won my heart. He was in charge of my "assimilation" into my new life, but I knew it was much more than just a job for him. He was there for me during a very difficult time in my new life and I knew he cared for me, no, that wasn't right, I knew he had come to love me as I could smell it in his scent and see it in the way he looked at me when he thought I wasn't looking. I had been sleeping in his bed since I had arrived but he had been a perfect gentleman and had not made any more advances towards me since that first rather nice episode when he examined me. I had come to love him too, so now it was I who made the first advances towards my chosen male. I instinctively knew when the time was right.

I was still a little hesitant as it was still so weird, but I felt the mating urge and it was overwhelming. He knew it too from my scent, but like the gentleman he was he waited until I made my intentions known. After he came home from work one day and had cleaned up and laid down to rest for awhile I started by nuzzling his neck and stroking the fur on his back, the touch arousing me as well. He gave a soft guttural moan and asked me "Are you sure you want me? There are other more senior males available." I just answered in a husky voice "I don't love them, they're not you".

He started to knead my own back and shoulders, nibbling at my neck and face and it felt wonderful. I started making deep chuffing sounds and when he slid his arm inside my pouch and fondled my nipples my whole body quivered and I gave a low growl of pleasure and delight. We pressed out muzzles together and "kissed" which involved some rather sloppy tongue work, but it was fine with us. He began to growl too, and reaching between my legs he gently cupped and stroked my balls and sheath and my penis slid out and became rock hard. I pulled away and looked down at myself as frankly I hadn't had a good look at the thing since my change, when I urinated just the head would stick out until I was through. It still looked pretty much like a normal human penis, but was longer and thicker and was a dark red color and was moist and slippery with its own lubrication. I really wondered that if I was the "female" in this case, then why was I the one with a penis? But I could hardly wait to find out.

We fondled and "kissed" for awhile longer as he stroked my erection and nipples causing to me to squeal at the lovely feeling. I began to stroke his own crotch and at first there really didn't seem to be much there though I could smell his arousal, but then a slit opened and my fingers slid into something wet and warm and he gave a guttural moan of pleasure. He pulled away from our embrace and lay back on the bed and spread his legs and panted heavily while he waited for me, making little moaning grunting sounds. I could see a gaping red slit with lips between his legs that sure looked a vagina to me. It didn't really look like a human one as no clitoris but I knew it was where I was supposed to put my penis and frankly I didn't care what it looked like. To me it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, but before I joined with him I thrust my muzzle between his legs and licked him long and slowly as he grasped the back of my head and gave deep guttural moans of sheer ecstasy as I tasted and explored him. Finally he gasped and gave a deep guttural "Please my love, please!" And I couldn't have waited much longer regardless, so I lowered myself onto to him and thrust as hard as I could. I'd had sex with human women before even though I had finally settled on being gay, but this was much better than anything I remembered. My penis felt much more sensitive and I gave a loud squeal as I slid into him that turned to deep guttural grunts as I thrust into him, and then when I achieved full penetration something totally unexpected happened. Frankly I had thought I was going to come with each thrust, and so I would but in a strange and wonderful way totally unlike anything I can describe.

As I achieved full penetration I felt the head of my penis push against something hard and he suddenly wrapped his legs around me in an extremely powerful grip and I was totally immobilized and couldn't thrust anymore. At the same time he also grasped me with his powerful arms pinning my own arms to my sides, and bit me, hard, on my neck to help pin me, then he flipped us over so I was on the bottom. It caught me by surprise and I was too startled to try and struggle at first, but soon I found out the reason for his brutal pinning. I gave a hurt squeal of pain and moaned, then tried to buck but he held me even tighter and growled as he bit down harder on my neck, holding me perfectly still and helpless for what was to come. Then I froze as I felt something push against, and then began to penetrate, the head of my penis! WHAT?

I roared as I felt whatever it was push deeper into me, it would pull back a little then thrust again and penetrate further. It didn't hurt, but was definitely not something I had been expecting. But as it pushed deeper into me the pleasure began to build with every thrust and soon I was moaning and squealing and cooperating, and he slowly loosened his grip on me but never let me go. Even his teeth in my throat felt incredibly erotic and I gave a guttural moan, my tongue hanging from the side of my mouth as I groaned in pleasure. I was totally in his control and loved every second. I stared at the ceiling with my mouth open as I gasped at the incredible feeling of having penetrated him, and then having my penis penetrated in turn BY him! I gave another guttural moan as he slid deeper and deeper into me and then the REAL pleasure started as I felt his penis (?) suddenly split and began to slide into each of my testicles, I could FEEL it happening! "Uggggghhhhhhh!" I screamed and suddenly felt an explosion of warmth in my loins as he growled and mewled through his muzzle which still gripped my neck in a firm bite. He pumped and pumped and I could feel my testicles swelling as they filled with his hot seed. It was the most incredibly erotic thing I had ever felt!

"Uggghhh, uggghhh, Grrrrrgrrrrwwwllll!" I began to helplessly buck and struggle as it went on and became unbearable as he filled me, but he kept me firmly pinned. Finally all I could do was just lie there and moan as my whole body writhed. Suddenly he let my neck go and gasped and moaned, then with a final roar he let me go all of the way. I pulled out of him but we were still joined, and looking down I finally saw his penis as it pulled free of the tip of my own penis with a tight slucking sound. I gave a deep moan and he grunted as we pulled free of one another, and even that last part was agonizing ecstasy. His penis was a dark purple color and very long, and as I watched the long double headed tip pulled back together and began to withdraw into his slit. His double headed penis had an opening in each tip that was still dribbling his sperm and lubricating fluid. It was almost an inch in diameter and I couldn't believe that it had penetrated the tip of my own penis and all the way down to my testicles because I was a good ten inches long. The two heads finished growing back together and it disappeared into him and his slit closed after it. He lay there moaning and panting, his mouth open and tongue lolling to help cool him down as like many animals we don't sweat.

Panting, I looked at the head of my own still rampant erection and there was a huge hole in the tip, and as I watched it slowly closed until it looked normal again except for the sexual fluids leaking from it, sexual fluids that weren't my own. And it felt so good. With a moaning gasp I reached down and felt my now swollen and taught balls, they were no longer shriveled and empty and I could feel the heat radiating from them. And I felt a new need, a more familiar one. I wanted a female, oh so bad! My strange new lust had been replaced by an old familiar one.

I looked at him and moaned. Oh my God, he'd just filled my balls with his own sperm to the bursting point, and there was so much I was now having a small male orgasm of my own as my balls overflowed and the extra seed leaked from me. I had been told this would happen but not HOW it would happen, but I realized I had loved every minute of the incredible experience. But now I needed help, I looked at him and moaned as my slow orgasm went on as sperm continued to slowly leak from me. My whole body was shuddering as I was on the edge of a full male orgasm. I wanted to take myself in my hands but was afraid too. I didn't know what to do. He heard my call and he knew what to do. He leaned over and took my penis and his mouth and began to gently tongue and suck it. I let out a growl of pleasure and grasped the back of his head as he sucked the overflow from me and finally I reached a complete orgasm and let his head go and grasped the bed with my hands and hissed through my clenched fangs as my body arched and bucked. "GroowwlllAArrrrrrrr!" I squealed.

He pulled away and collapsing next to me and he held me and licked my face and neck with slow soft licks, and I did the same. I couldn't believe what had just happened; I had two full blown orgasms, the last as a male and the first as a what? A Surrogate, or a female, or maybe both? It had been totally strange and incredibly erotic and the pleasure had been indescribable. I wanted it again as soon as possible, but knew it would be awhile before he needed to refill my loins. That meant I had to empty them as soon as possible, and I found I was very much looking forward to that experience as well. I was exhausted and happened to see the clock on the side table and was shocked at how long it had taken to consummate our mating. Had he been inside me while I was inside of him for that long? Two hours!?! Finally, my head and arm draped across the warm furry chest of my "mate" I feel into a deep wonderful sleep.

I woke up and gave a yawn. Did last night really happen? I reached down and felt my now full testicles. Oh yes indeed it had! My mate, what a nice sounding word, was still asleep, his back turned towards me. I snugglee up next to him and nibbled his ear, but he kept sleeping, snoring softly. This calls for more drastic measures, so I leaned my head down and gave his rump a nip and he woke with a startled yelp. He turned to face me with a growl and started to tickle me, and I found out that, yes, Tawn are quite ticklish. I shrieked in laughter and launched an assault of my own until we were both squealing and barking like idiots. No telling what the neighbors thought! Finally he pulled me to him and we nuzzled for a nice long while.

"Last night was um, well, not exactly what I expected." I murmured. He looked at me in concern, and said,

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked anxiously.

"Why do you think I was screaming so much?" I replied. But at his growing look of horror I quickly added, "But it was a good kind of hurt, and I think next time it won't hurt as much since I guess I'm no longer a, um virgin."

He smiled, and said. "Neither am I."

I was surprised, "You mean you never? It was your first time too? But I thought, I mean, oh my goodness!" And we both barked in laughter before nuzzling some more, and groomed one another with our tongues until our rather rumpled fur was sleek again. It was second nature, I didn't even think about it.

"We need to give you a name, now that we're paired" he murmured while we were still enjoying one another's attentions.

You know, to be quite truthful I'd never even thought about a name. I had become used to everyone calling me "Surrogate" all the time. It occurred to me the others had names, so I decided that, yes, I wanted a name too. "How do we do that?" I asked him.

He smiled and said "In our culture the Surrogates names all start with "Ril" as that is the name in our own language for Surrogates. And usually the Surrogate takes part of the name of their pair male too." He seemed kind of shy all of sudden, "Would you like "Rilchna"?

I thought about it for about ten seconds, "Rilchna"? I said the name softly, then giving him a nip on the ear I told it sounded just fine. And he grinned from ear to ear in delight. And so I became Rilchna, a very proper name for a Tawn Surrogate.

As soon as we left the room it was evident what had happened as our scents had changed. We were now a "paired" mated couple, and my scent at this point more closely resembled his, and his scent was now that of a fully mature male. There were loads of congratulations all around, and the other males, though disappointed, were just as happy for us. And almost instantly I was ready to perform the second half of my function as a Surrogate.

I was very interested in females now, and my scent was very close to a males. What my new scent indicated was I was carrying a male's sperm and was ready to pass it to females. Soon my "pair mate" picked desirable females for me to service and pass his seed onto, and I was more than glad to comply. Female and male Tawn are virtually identical except that females tend to be slightly smaller, and like the males they have no outward signs of their sex. They have no breasts or mammary glands of their own. Of course we always know though from our scents which sex we are. Retchna would court, or be courted by, females and he would pick his mates. The time and place would be chosen, usually in one of the special rooms set aside for this purpose, but sometimes elsewhere as mating in the open air under the sky could be quite enjoyable. He would leave me at the chosen place and a short time later the female would join me. And it was pretty much the same as human sex after that, but much more intense as there was a definite animal element to it as well. Tawn are NOT human, and sex as one is different in many ways, especially for a Ril like me.

We would nuzzle and get to "know" each other, our mutual foreplay arousing one another. The female would fondle and lick me while I grew hard, and I would stroke her slit until it opened to reveal what was most definitely a vagina, a very human looking one only dark purple in color. I would thrust my muzzle between her legs to smell her state of readiness and also taste and help lubricate her with my tongue to get her ready. Then when she was wet and slick and her own sexual juices were flowing it was time for the main event. After varying periods of more mutual oral stimulation we would be ready. We Tawn are totally uninhibited and can drag foreplay out for hours as it just feels so good. Finally I would press the head of my penis against her lips, and then penetrate her with an initial slow push until my head slid in. Most females preferred to be mounted from the rear, but a few liked the "missionary" position (though I doubt they'd ever called it that).

I was quite large, a good ten inches, but the females never had any trouble at all in accommodating me, though sometimes it took awhile to achieve full penetration as they were tight to start with until my actions stretched them, especially if it was the first time for the female. But both of us enjoyed getting me in them to the hilt very much. As I coupled with them, growling and grunting as I thrust into and rode them it was incredibly intense as my penis seemed much more sensitive than it had been before I became what I am now. It also took quite awhile for me to reach release, up to an hour, which was just fine by us. When I did I would throw my head back and roar from the agonizing ecstasy of my release as some of mates seed poured into this chosen female. And all during this agonizing ecstasy the female would be roaring and squealing too. We Tawn are VERY vocal in our mating. The fact I was only the delivery system didn't bother me, or my partners, at all. It was natural for us, and now for me as well.I no longer thought it was weird, it was wonderful. After we finished we would spend the rest of the night together coming down from our mutual sexual high, but I never serviced the same partner twice and they did not expect me too. My mate's seed was way too valuable to waste that way for mere pleasure. Post coupling grooming and cleaning was very enjoyable in its own right. Sometimes my pair mate would join us and we would spend the rest of the night together. I thought it sad he would never actually have the pleasure of mating with the females who would carry and have his children.

It took two to three couplings to drain my loins to the point I reverted back to my "female" state. We could tell when my scent faded from male back to "receptive" again, and I lost all interest in the females. Then my mate and I would have another glorious drawn out coupling as he refilled me with his seed. Now it often took him two times to get me full, but I would have preferred it took even more. And more than once it was with different males in order to give them a chance to breed as well. I preferred my mate, but did as was required of me and all the males satisfied me quite nicely and I had no complaints, but Retchna was my one and only true "pair mate".

And seven times out of ten the females I serviced became pregnant. Again you couldn't tell from looking at them as they did not swell up, and in fact the pups when they were born were tiny things, but we could tell from their scent of course if they were pregnant.

I remember when I was given my first pup, my mates, to nurse. I was called to the hospital and waited by the female's bed as she gave birth. It was over and done in minutes and she could return to duty right away. Retchna was usually the delivering doctor and proudly beaming father in this case. There was no blood and screaming or trauma. The female licked the small precious pink pup clean and handed him or her (mostly hers) to me carefully and I gently slid the pup into my pouch and it instinctively found and attached itself to one of my nipples. The first time I felt one start feeding I felt a contentment and joy I had never felt before as I felt that small warm life inside of me and its beating heart. Both the Tawn parents would stand by me and gently stroke my belly while we all nuzzled one another. I had never been so happy in my life.

Soon I had a full pouch and even two extra hitchhikers due to there being so few "Rils" or Surrogates. I had to make sure to rotate the pups so they all got a full meal of my milk every day. I was pretty chubby by now too, due to my breasts lactating and the pup filled pouch. The pups latched onto the fatty lining of my pouch and attached themselves to my nipples and pretty much spent most of their time sleeping or drinking. It was a lovely feeling and I loved them all so dearly. I knew each one by its scent and call. They would squeak and squeal and I would answer and they'd calm down again for awhile. Everywhere I went the other Tawn would stop and listen with their heads next to my belly and gently stroke the pouch with looks of bliss on their faces, and I never refused this very real need of ours. The need to know the next generation was well and happy. Like my friend and fellow Surrogate Rilne I always let the mothers hold their pups for awhile, even though it was against the rules. Asshole rules, I always said, much to Retchna's distress. He looked so cute when he grimaced at me and made frantic "shut-up" motions.

There was one sad incident that traumatized me for a long time as I thought it was my fault. I woke one morning and was checking the pups when I realized one was not responding to my calls. Growing concerned I gently pulled her from my pouch; she was still warm but wasn't breathing. Terrified I ran squealing and yelping the short distance to the Vets offices, and was soon being followed by several other Tawn who had heard my "young in danger!" calls, all of them ready to fight or do anything required to protect the young. Retchna was already there and while he did his best to save the pup the other Tawn did their best to comfort me and the now equally scared pups as they sensed my own fear. Bless him, he worked for over an hour on his daughter, trying to bring back that spark of life long after any other would have given up. Finally even he had to give in to the inevitable, and when he came out of the exam room carrying the horribly still little form I shrieked and would have collapsed if the others hadn't supported me. I sat down on the floor with him and we both held the pup and wailed and cried, the others standing around us to protect and shield us. The mother joined us eventually and added her own wails to our mutual grief.

No one blamed me for what happened, it was just one of those things. It was rare, but the Tawn have "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" too. We buried the poor little pup in a small cemetery set aside for that purpose with a simple marker that said "Beloved Daughter of Retchna/Rilchna/Rutna". It's kind of touching, but the Tawn believe in souls just like we do. I blamed myself for months, and still cry sometimes in the night when I think of the pup I lost. That little cemetery is next to one the hybrids have, and they tend ours as well, bless them. We don't tell them to, they just do it. I often find flowers on the grave, left there by some hybrid who only knows someone who was loved is buried there.

It's a strange relationship, two races of slaves supervising and controlling a new slave race, but taking care of one another. All in the service of Masters most have never even seen. Sometimes Retchna would lose a sick or injured hybrid, and when he came home from work he would cry for hours while I held him. The universe is a fucked up place, but that doesn't mean compassion and caring can't be found in the weirdest places. Tawn love the animals in their protection, and any who mistreat or misuse an animal for any reason, whether a hybrid or "natural" is ostracized which for such a social race is a horrible punishment indeed, to have to live alone and never mate is living death for a Tawn. You can spot the outcasts easily, they are skinny and their fur is matted and falling out, and they have a horrible vacant stares.

A few years later Retchna received a promotion and was put in charge of a major new animal husbandry facility some distance away, it was a major step up and I was happy for him. I was nearing the end of another year of caring for a new litter of pups, and it would soon be time for me to let them go. It was always so hard to do that, I would fight and scream bloody murder when they came to take my babies, but I always let them go in the end as it was the Tawn way as dictated by our asshole Masters. Since it was nearing that difficult time I didn't accompany him to his new permanent assignment at first. When I followed a few weeks late something happened that changed things again.

I was to rejoin my pair mate as soon as possible as we were behind on our "breeding" duties. I hated it when they called it something so impersonal sounding, it sure as hell wasn't impersonal to us! But I was receptive again and looking was looking forward to rejoining my mate. I also had some new pups I was anxious to show him as some of his female mates had given birth after he left. I was assigned to the protection of a Krill supply convoy consisting of 40 Krill soldiers, five vehicles, and myself. I was listed as "Special Cargo/Handle with Extreme Care".

When the ambush started one of the Krill in the APC I was riding in draped some combat armor over my head and told me to stay put. She grabbed her rifle and went to join her comrades in the battle. It didn't last very long and the Krill were overwhelmed after a vicious no quarters given battle. I had never really cared much for them even though they did have real personalities like anyone else, but they made their last stand around the APC I was in to protect the "Special Cargo" under their care to the last. They took it as a matter of honor, and there were no survivors. The last Krill, a non-combatant care giver went down in a hail of fire as she tried to reach a wounded soldier. The other wounded Krill she had dragged into the APC had already died. Of course I was totally freaked out by then, cowering under the armor and scared to death. Tawn to NOT make good soldiers, we're lovers not fighters.

When it was over I heard the sounds of hybrids calling to one another, bleats and yelps, and voices. They were cautious as they approached the burning and smoking vehicles as there could always be a last holdout or wounded survivor waiting to take an enemy with them as a last act of defiance. I could hear, and smell them now, working their way closer. I felt no real fear for myself, but was ready to die defending the precious lives in my pouch. I put on the armor as best I could as it wasn't really made to fit a Tawn, but it would help shield my pouch and was better than nothing. The only weapon I could find was a bayonet, but I picked it up and got ready to do my best.

The hybrids were less cautious now and were beginning to examine and loot the remains of the convoy. I listened as they got closer. "We shouldn't have killed that care giver, Reggie!" "Hell, how were we to know it was unarmed, what with all the smoke and firing" "Still shouldn't have done it, you know how they feel about that, you know how I feel about that!" "It's done, so forget about it!" I could tell they were mainly goats and deer, but there were a couple of carnies mixed in from the scents. "Well, lookie here, we got rations!" I heard what sounded like a coyote yelp in delight. "Yuck, said a goat, you can haaave them!" "The labels say fresh goat meat!" yipped the carnie, "Cannibal!" replied the goat in disgust. Then a young buck stuck his antlered head in the back of the APC I was hiding in.

With a snarl I launched myself at him and he let out a surprised squeal and threw up his arms and fell backwards. He managed to deflect the bayonet and knock it out of my hands, but not before it left a nasty cut across one arm. Tawn aren't really predators, but we do have fangs and I went for the buck's throat, raking my claws across his own armor which saved him from a nasty mauling. He pulled back far enough and my jaws clicked shut on empty air, but I launched myself at him again, growling and snarling. He was lithe and very quick like all his kind, so he managed to scramble backwards and avoid me at the last second. I looked up to find myself surrounded by a circle of mixed hybrid species, and none of them looked very friendly. They were pointing an assortment of nasty looking weapons at me.

"Well, well. What have we got here?" one of the canines said. "We gots us a Tawn!" yelped the coyote, "Time for a little fun!" I didn't like the sound of that at all. Then a large Ram, the obvious leader from the way the others acted towards him, stepped forward, and said, "No, Reggie, you know we don't do that kind of shit." "But he's a Tawn!" whined the coyote named Reggie. "Let me cut it up, just a little?" "NO, and that's the last we'll talk about it!" grunted the Ram. About this time a young Nanny goat took a dainty step closer and carefully sniffed at me. "Captain, she said, I've been around Tawn you know, and this isn't one I've seen before. It smells different from the others, and I think it has young with it." "What?" snorted the Ram, "Are you sure Betty?" By now several other browsers had also taken good sniffs and they all concurred with the goat named Betty. "She's right Cap'n, its got young with it, but where are they?"

By this time I'd calmed down quite a bit, and since it looked like they weren't going to slaughter me right away I'd been listening to them with my full undivided attention. "They're in my pouch." I said.

That shut them up, and the Ram asked, "What did you say, Tawn?"

"I said my pups are in my pouch, like a Kangaroo, you know, hop, hop, hop! And I AM a Tawn, but I'm a hybrid too. I'm a Ril, a Surrogate."

"What the hell is a Ril?" asked the goat, "What the hell is a surrogate?" added Reggie who was evidently a few points shy of a normal IQ. One of the other goats spoke up and said "I've heard about them, the Tawn use them as sex slaves and force them to raise their young. Poor things."

That last ignorant comment made me mad. "They do NOT force us; we do it because we love our mates, both the male and his females! They need us to survive, and we're just as much Tawn as they are in every way now. It's those Karn assholes who made them, us, that way so they could control us better." About that time the pups, which had frozen at the sounds of the battle and my obvious distress, began to call shrilly, scared to death. Instantly I ignored the hybrids and gave the pups my undivided attention, gently calling to them, and shedding the armor I began to gently stroke my stomach. Sticking my head in my pouch I licked the four pups I was nursing, and they settled down and began to contentedly suckle. When I raised my head the hybrids were all staring at me in perfect silence and they'd lowered their weapons so I knew the immediate danger was over. The females were looking at me in obvious interest.

"You smell like a female and have babies, but you have a penis." One of the females said. "So what are you, male or female?"

"I'm giving off a female scent because I'm receptive right now." I replied. At their blank looks I knew I'd have to explain everything to them, so I started to.

But the Ram broke in and said it had to wait until they got the fuck out of there before a Krill patrol showed up. So they loaded up all their ill-gotten loot, including me, and dispersed into the countryside. They took their dead with them, the battle had not been one sided, it never is with Krill because they are excellent soldiers. I was taken, not cooperating much, with the Ram and two female goats. They were polite enough, but insistent, so I kept up. Later they all rendezvoused at an old abandoned water treatment plant.

I was fed, not very good food by the standards I was used to, but they gave me plenty and it was the same they had so I didn't complain. Then it was talking time again and except for some sentries they all gathered, there were about fifty in the band, and listened with great interest as I told them my story. When I told them what my "function" was that got quite a reaction.

"That's just weird!" said the genius Reggie. Some of the others had an "I really didn't need to know that" kind of looks on their faces. One Ewe said "You mean while you're in him, he, um, does it, to, um you too?" When I told her that was pretty much right she just shook her head and said "Baaaaaa!" The Ram said, "So let me get this straight, you're neither male nor female, but you perform both, um, functions, with first a male, then females, then you raise the kiddies?"

"Yup." I replied.

The Ram gave a snort, and said, "And I thought what they did to US was fucked up!"

"It's not so bad, I said, they really do love me, and I love them. Like I said, they need us just to survive. We need each other too as friends and lovers, its amazing how much like us they are. About this time one of the pups, tired and wanting to sleep, voiced his displeasure with all the loud noise, and I was instantly surrounded by Nannies and Ewes, all wanting to see. So I took out one of the pups and cradled it so they could all get a look.

They "Ooohed and awed", "It's precious!" one said, "How old is she?" asked another, and so on. Females are always intrigued by young, no matter the species. It's that maternal instinct that even I had now. The males looked kind of revolted by all the "Coochie-coo's" and "She's an idle, widdle, cutie pies", but nuts to them. "Ewww" one male said, and I also heard "I think I'm gonna puke." Finally Reggie, not wanting to be left out, sneaked over and said "Let me have a look!", and when he saw the pup he blurted out "Looks like a rat to me!" Then he hopped away yelping after one of the Goats lashed out with a leg and kicked him in the shin.

"Owww! Whad'd I do!" he said in a hurt voice as he hopped around. "Ooops, Sorry Reggie" the goat said in a very insincere voice, to the sound of "Baaaaa's" of amusement.

The Ram just said, "Reggie.", "Yeah, Cap'n?" Reggie replied. "Just go away for awhile, OK?"

Reggie departed with a final indignant "But she kicked ME!"

"Sorry about that, the Ram said, he means well but he's a moron." I couldn't help it, I was giggling too. Turns out they all called him Willy E. Coyote behind his back, which was perfect.

They gave me an old mattress to sleep on that night, and posted a guard to keep an eye on me even though I knew I wasn't going anywhere. No way would I risk the pups in some stupid escape attempt. I felt lonely and wished Retchna was there, and as if sensing that one of the Nannies came over and joined me, and the feel and scent of her helped me to finally get some sleep. Like hybrids Tawn hate to sleep alone, it's just not natural.

Over the next few days I found out a lot I hadn't known before, and I'm sure they found out a lot from me, at least about Tawn breeding habits anyway. I didn't care if they thought I was weird and felt sorry for me; I wouldn't change a single thing. Part of me knew that was partially because of the way the Karn virus had messed with my brain, but like I said I didn't care. I found out about the widespread, and still growing, resistance. To my surprise several of the hybrids showed me the designation codes tattooed on the inside of their hind leg, and I realized they too had once been "domesticated" livestock. The only reason they could talk now was with the use of stolen translation collars. Of course I had heard rumors about "ferals" who sometimes raided for food, but had no idea they were an actual armed resistance movement. I guess our Masters figured keeping that information as quite as possible was for the best, no need to alarm the slaves.

At one point they asked if I wanted to join their resistance band, said I was welcome if I wanted to help fight back. I just smiled and told them about the supplements to my diet I needed to stay healthy, and when I added the pups would die if I did then all the females nodded in agreement when I turned down the offer. Plus, I added, I have a mate I love and he must be worried sick about me, and to my mortification I started to sniff a little when I said that as I so missed him too. Then the problem was what to do with me.

They debated about that for a couple of days, the females all adamant that they should let me go as otherwise it was infanticide, and most of the males agreed for the most part. Even Reggie said "Let him, er, she, or whatever it is go!" and got another prompt kick in the shin from the nearest sheep. "Yip, yip, yip!"

It was up to the Captain, the Ram named Charles, to make the final decision though. He talked over the radio for some time with someone named Col. Ross at HQ, wherever that was, and finally made his decision.

They let me go the next day, leaving me by the side of a well traveled supply route that had regular patrols every day. I promised not to reveal anything I'd found out and I think they believed me. I also agreed to help out in any way I could as long as it didn't involve harming any of my fellow Tawn. I would be contacted by undercover livestock (boy that sounded weird) every now and then and asked to provide any useful information or find out what they needed to know, if I could. I'd do my best to help the resistance, but only to a certain extent. After all I had pups to raise and that took precedence over any other concern. Rils take that part of our functions most seriously and allow nothing to interfere.

My reunion with Retchna was a joyous occasion for us and all the other Tawn. When the hovership landed he came running to meet me, squealing in joy and relief, and careful of the pups he took in his embrace and licked me all over my snout and face and I did the same to him. Then he just hugged me and cried and I did too, I had missed him so terribly much. The poor thing, he was skinny and his pelt was unkempt and un-groomed. He'd been so worried and hadn't slept or eaten for days. Later I heard he'd led search teams personally, and even the Krill had all worked overtime trying to find me. He had flat out refused to even consider I might be dead even though no body had been found. I told him I'd been kept in a dark room with no contact with my captures, and he growled in anger. Then all I could was just hug him as hard as I could.

The first night we were back in our new quarters we had the most glorious mating we'd ever had. I was receptive and the ordeal we'd both been through had made us both realize just how much we loved each other. Our coupling lasted much longer than usual and we probably kept up the whole facility all night, our fellow Tawn were delighted at the sounds of our lovemaking, but I bet it just irritated the Krill. I had visions of Krill with pillows (do they even use pillows?) over their heads yelling at us to "Be quiet already!" When I slipped into my "male" stage again it took six couplings with females to empty my mates seed from my loins he had pumped me so full. I think it was a record!

END

************************************************************************************************************