The standstill on the bridge continued, with some of those there suggesting that the planet was lost. Too many teams had been destroyed and there was no way they would be able to conquer a planet whose inhabitants were much larger than themselves. However, others argued that planets teeming with life were far and few in between, and if they hoped to expand their influence and gain more resources for their own home, they'd have to find a way. The humans were still largely unaware of their presence, giving them that advantage. The mission could still be accomplished, but their approach would have to change. Initially, there had been discussion of sending in operatives disguised as humans, utilizing a sort of cloaking technology that, instead of rending them invisible, would change their outward appearance to the humans. However, now that they knew of the immense size difference, this had been abandoned. They would need a new method of subterfuge. One scientist offered a bold suggestion; perhaps they could take control of one of the humans? If they could get inside one of the human's brains and implant a chip, they might be able to puppeteer it from the bridge. Such technology had been in the works as part of their ongoing effort to control the savage Thrukrol. The idea was interesting, but after yet another team and several drones had been destroyed within moments, no one was willing to go down and attempt the mission.

Indeed, several more drones had been sent after the rebellious team had deployed themselves. All of them had been destroyed within seconds of encountering one of the humans. The monitors of the bridge were filled with images of immense cleavages, large round butts, the soles of countless shoes, swatting hands, long flowing tufts of fur, and even the dark interiors of mouths and noses. So far, every single specimen they had encountered had been a female. Where they the dominate gender on this planet?

But, among all this destruction, a vital piece of information had come in. A potential candidate for their subterfuge goals. Even better, it was not one of the humans themselves, but rather a creature that appeared to live with one. The creature was a large, fuzzy brown specimen that appeared to be largely sedentary, hardly moving much at all. They would have thought it was sleeping was it not for its eyes being wide open. Still, their own home planet had its fair share of lethargic animals (some of whom hibernated for long periods of time, especially in seasons when Thrukrol were most active). This non-violent beast would be a perfect test subject. If they could implant chips into it, perhaps, with some great care, they could do so with one of the humans.

A small ship, about the size of a Fighter, of two brave scientists were deployed. As they left the fleet, a few Fighters, of their own initiative, decided to join them, ignoring the command of the Mothership. They were able to enter the atmosphere and reach their destination and target with ease. The Fighters circled around the brown creature, as the scientists disembarked and carefully began to navigate its form. Immediately, they began to suspect something was amiss, even more so when they couldn't find an orifice to implant their tech through.

They were still attempting to solve this puzzle when she arrived, taking them by surprise.

…

If the circumstances in her life had been a little different, Clarissa Fullerton would have owned a service animal. A little dog or kitty to carry with her to help her face our big and intimidating world, which was often cruel to gentle souls like her. But such things were well out of the budget of her family, at least when she had been younger. Fortunately, a much cheaper alternative had proven to be just as effective.

Her parents first two attempts at a family had ended in tragedy, each delivery never making it out of the hospital. Fate was merciful, however, and the third child, Clarissa, survived. But the scars of loss ran deep, and her parents sheltered their daughter, holding onto her as if death lurked in the shadows waiting for an opportunity to snatch her away. Clarissa did not attend elementary school, instead being homeschooled by her mother, never leaving the safety of home unaccompanied by her parents. This instilled a implicit fear in the young girl of the larger world, making her anxious whenever stepping out the front door. As she had no real friends at the times, the only ones she could turn to, aside from her mother and father, were her stuffed animals that filled her bedroom. Most of these old toys were now gone or in a box in the attic. But one still remained, her personal favorite...a brown teddy bear with a red bow tie that she affectionately referred to as “Mr. Snuggles”. Mr. Snuggles became her travel companion, accompanying her wherever she went. The anxiety that often plagued her slowly began to melt when she held her best friend close.

It wasn't until middle school that Clarissa's homeschooling finally ended. Her maternal grandmother, Doris, the tough proprietor of the local bakery, forcefully insisted that her granddaughter attend a public school. Her parents had initially refused, but when Doris pointed out that their child had not one friend that wasn't stuffed with cotton, they began to relent. The thought of being away from home for so long every day was terrifying to Clarissa and, when the fall came and it was finally time to board the school bus, she took Mr. Snuggles with her. Had she been a boy, carrying a stuffed animal around would have been a recipe for constant teasing and bullying, but the young girl gave such an aura of sweet innocence that very few had the heart to do so, and those that did were quickly shut down. Still, Clarissa found herself hating her new environment and on a few occasions had to be sent home early for anxiety attacks. But it would be during these years that she would meet her first true friend, Sarah Leheron. Through Sarah, Clarissa would meet other people around school. She would also meet her mother, Mary-Jean, and Valerie Bradson, whom intimidated Clarissa with her excessive personality. Through gentle pushes out of her comfort zone (or less gentle when Valerie was involved) Clarissa began to slowly peek out of her metaphorical shell, and ol' Mr. Snuggles accompanied her less and less. Still, the worn and cherished bear was something that Clarissa could never part with, and to this day he could be found sitting patiently atop her bed, waiting for his owner to come home.

Most weekdays Clarissa would spend her time at her grandmother's bakery, where she worked baking cakes, breads, and all manner of goods. Today, however, she had off, which was great as it was the first of the month, meaning she'd spend this particular Friday evening with her friends at Natalie's apartment. The only problem was that, until tonight, there wasn't really much to do but sit around in her room.

She walked towards her bed and began to sat down when she looked at Mr. Snuggles, sitting vigilantly at his usual spot propped up against the pillows. Though it had been years since she stopped carrying him around it still warmed her heart whenever she saw her old friend, looking as sharp as ever with his cute red little bow tie. Smiling, Clarissa reached over and picked him up before finally sitting down on the bed, her rear landing directly on top of a small alien vessel which disintegrated into pieces under her weight.

…

Both of the scientists had been at the top of the brown creature's head, both at either ear to try and find the opening to implant their tech. Before either of them could even think to jump off, the human's hands clutched the creature and lifted it with surprising ease, as if the being was made of air. The movement shook the scientists free from their position and one rolled down onto the nose of the beast while the other managed to grab hold of a red fabric that seemed to be tied around its neck. The first scientist, sitting atop the nose, glanced down to see if he could see his companion, but his gaze was diverted when he saw movement above him. The massive face of the human stared down at him, causing him to freeze. Then, the face began to lower, the mouth coming down directly on top of him, the lips puckering. The soft pink flesh pressed him against the brown fur of the brown animal. The air being squeezed out of him, the scientists kicked and squirmed to free himself, but couldn't. He could hear his helmet cracking under the pressure and knew it was only a matter of time before it would give. Even through his suit he could feet the warm breath of the human, a strange but sweet smell permeating into his helmet (chocolate was, of course, unknown to him).

When the lips finally rose, the scientist went with them, stuck to the top one. He watched with horror as the brown creature was now incredibly far below him. Falling now would certainly be a death sentence. But just as that thought went through his mind, the tongue poked out and lapped across the lips. A small wave of saliva splattered across the helmet, obscuring his vision completely as he felt his body stick to the slimy mass which dragged him inside the cavernous mouth. Suddenly, he was trapped in a raging current, and he did not know how to swim. Liquid slowly seeped through the tiny cracks of his helmet and he could feel his head becoming lighter as the poisonous air came in with it. The current forcefully pulled towards the back of the cave and he was suddenly pulled downward into a narrow slimy writhing tunnel with the warm fluid. Whatever trace amounts of light had been in the mouth did not follow him. As he slid down, he fumbled with the buttons on his suit to turn on its lights, finally managing to do so at the end of the descent.

He was dropped into an even larger cavern, this one far more dank and writhing than the mouth. There was no question about where he was now. He had been eaten, he was trapped deep within the belly of the human. It was a matter of time now. Already he could feel the heat of the acids working against his suit. He had no weapons, nothing to try and cut his way out. His helmet cracked and popped and slowly more liquid began to drain in. A searing pain shot into him as the warm “water” touched his skin and he began to shriek. The lights of his suit went out as the electrical wiring shorted out and his flailing body began to slow as it weakened. He bobbed in the water for a moment before his suit filled with the acid, and then began to sink into the thick, churning sea.

A moment later, there was a small explosion as the air tank on the back of the suit exploded.

…

Just as she placed Mr. Snuggles into her lap, a rumble gurgled deep within her belly. Clarissa placed a hand on her stomach just as a small belch suddenly leapt out of her throat.

“Whoops!” She muttered to herself. “Excuse me...”

She turned her attention back to her little friend, smiling down at him, her heart melting once again. After a moment, she lifted the teddy bear up again...

…

The second scientist held onto the red fabric with all of his might as the creature was lifted again. When there was a pause, he looked up and was greeted with his vision filled up beyond capacity with the fleshy mountains at chest level. Without warning, these colossal mounds bore down on him, squeezing against the poor tiny alien with all their mighty form. The flesh was too soft to squish the scientist, but it pinned him hard against the brown fur of the smaller creature. The upper body of the human began to sway side to side, its heavy bosom jostling with its movement, further smothering the tiny scientist, whose helmet began to crack.

Desperate, the scientist clutched handfuls of brown fur and tugged with all his might to free himself from underneath the heavy flesh. He was able to pull himself up slowly, and eventually managed to roll out atop the heaving bosom, his hands scrambling to grab onto the flesh to keep himself from falling between the mountains.

…

Clarissa released Mr. Snuggles from her big hug and smiled at him again for a moment before replacing him to his usual spot. She was about to stand up when she happened to glance down at her chest. A small dot was moving across her right breast. An ant maybe? She raised a hand and gently picked up the tiny thing and carefully placed it in her left hand.

…

The scientist, now sitting in a fast field of flesh, stared up at the human, who stared back at him. He could recognize no emotion in the face, no clue as to what was going on through the mind of his immense captor. There was nothing that could be done. The ship was lost. His partner was missing. He had no way of communicating with the Mothership.

He was entirely at the mercy of the human female.

…

Clarissa looked at the small bug in her hand for a moment before standing up and walking towards the window of her bedroom, sliding it up. Then, she raised the hand that held the bug up to her mouth and blew it off her skin and out the window. Half of her expected it to fly but, before she lost sight of its tiny body, she could only see it plummeting towards the ground. She winced, hoping it would be okay. Bugs had tough exoskeletons or something, right? They could survive a fall like that with no problem...right? She closed the window and began to turn when her cellphone began to ring. Her spirits lifted when she saw the caller ID.

“Hi Natalie!” She answered happily.

“Hi Claire!” Natalie Veronica replied.

“What's going on?”

“I was just calling to make sure that you were still on for tonight at my place!”

“Of course! I would never miss it!”

“Great!”

“Do you know if Neil and Sarah are coming?”

“I dunno!” Natalie replied. “You were the first one I called. I was gonna call Sarah next, then Ariel. And Megan, of course!”

Clarissa's smile faltered a little when she heard that name. As with most everyone else in the group of friends, she wasn't particularly fond of Megan Brown, Natalie's supposed best friend. Megan was sometimes mean, and wasn't afraid to snap at Clarissa if she found her annoying. One October, Clarissa had found somehow been talked into going into a haunted house theme park, something she had never wanted to do before and probably never would. All the scary actors and set pieces frightened her nearly to tears, and Megan, in exasperation, had called her a baby. Fortunately, this little spite caught Ariel Bradson's ear, and Megan Brown quickly learned not to pick on Clarissa or anyone else in her presence. If Ariel was going to attend Game Night, then things might be okay...

“Sounds fun.” Clarissa said, not wanting to show her dislike of Natalie's friend.

“Of course it does!” Natalie said cheerfully. “It will be! So, see you tonight?”

“Yep!”

“Great!” Natalie paused. “But...uhm, hey Claire?”

“Yeah?”

“Any chance you could bring some of your famous cookies? Pretty, pretty pwease?”

Clarissa smiled. “Sure! I think I should be able to make some before tonight!”

“YES!” Natalie cheered. “Thanks, Claire! You're the best!”

Clarissa blushed. “Oh...thanks, it's nothing really.”

“Welp, see you tonight then!” Natalie said. “Later, girlfriend!”

“Bye!” Clarissa replied.

She placed her phone on her night stand and began to leave but then glanced at the little bear sitting on her bed. She smiled.

“Oh, what the heck.” She said softly, walking back and picking up her old friend. “Come on, Mr. Snuggles. We have cookies to bake!”

And with that, she left the room, practically skipping, happily humming to herself.