Ensign Cubby was acing his final exam at the academy. Passing was a formality. He added the final line to his essay, “...and that’s why the matter replicator is the most important invention in Surplus history.”  And placed the tablet down on the desk in front of him. He knew full well that he was about to be assigned to one of the more important star ships; after all he was top of his class. He had worked hard for three years and now he was about to be rewarded. He let out a small hungry burp and waddled out of the examination room.

Luxurian Gas was not as confident. As the first Grandiloquent to be admitted into the Academy he had had to fight many prejudices and overcome many hurdles to be accepted; not least adapting to the alien human culture. On his home world, he had been an outcast. On Earth he was even more so. He watched Ensign Cubby’s rear end as it exited the examination room. He still had at least ten pages to go. The sucker on his tentacle expelled a small but firm amount of methane; just the right amount of pressure to type the word required. As an octopoid he knew that he was at a disadvantage in this environment, but he was determined to overcome it.

Ensign Cubby entered the cafeteria, ordered from the replicator, and took a seat while he waited for the others to finish. As he munched on his squid rings he looked up at the plaque on the wall which proudly boasted the Surplus motto: “To discover strange new worlds and strange new foods. To boldly eat what no man has eaten before.” He felt the drive of hunger and anticipation. It was an urge that had been with him since his youth. He scooped more squid rings into his mouth and chewed with vigour. They tasted fine. Yes, the replicator was the best invention ever, but it never tasted quite as good as the real thing. He couldn’t wait to explore all of the strange new delicacies that the galaxy had to offer.

Assigned to the federation flag ship; Enter Size, he was half way through his onboarding physical when he was surprised to see Luxurian Gas enter the room. “178 cm tall, 169 kilograms. You are the perfect example of health, Ensign,” The Doctor said. But, Ensign Cubby wasn’t listening to him. His attention was fully on his octopoidal classmate.

For his part, Luxurian Gas, was not at all surprised to see Ensign Cubby. He knew full well that the class boffin had been given the best assignment. He waved a tentacle at his corpulent friend and slithered over to talk to him. “How are you, Cubby? Looking forward to our first assignment?” Ensign Cubby scratched at his rumbling stomach. He was very much looking forward to discovering as many new species as possible and he told Luxurian so.

Something about Ensign Cubby had always made Luxurian slightly nervous, however, he was pleased when they told that they would be sharing a cabin. At least he was familiar with Ensign Cubby. Getting to know humans was hard. They always said that they had no problems with other species, yet it always took them time to get over the fact that he was not humanoid. He often felt that they still considered him to somehow be a lower life form, even though they had constantly denied that this was the case. The Surplus claimed that they had grown beyond such petty differences.

The quarters assigned to new officers were cramped but comfortable. They had a large enough bed each, a table to eat at, and their own matter replicator built into the wall. The two new recruits had eight hours to kill until their first ever shift so they decided to spend it wisely by testing all of the unknown dishes that the replicator had to offer. “It’s important to get used to eating alien food,” Ensign Cubby declared as he scoffed down a handful of Vulgarian mice.

Cubby watched in fascination as Luxurian soaked the mice up into a tentacle. “How exactly do you eat?” He asked. “Do you even have a stomach?” Luxurian laughed and excreted some methane, while another tentacle tapped on the replicator control panel and ordered them three Regalian burgers each. “I actually have over three thousand stomachs. They are dotted all over my body. It makes for quicker digestion.” Ensign Cubby was impressed. “Is that why you just grow bigger and thicker, rather than fatter? He asked.”Yes, I just add mass to my body. It’s an incredibly even process. No one part grows any bigger than another. I just expand.” “Do you ever feel full?” Cubby asked through a mouthful of Egorian rib. “Sadly not. I have often wondered what it would feel like to just have a single large stomach like yourself. To feel that one part of my body bloat and expand bigger than all the others. To feel full and heavy and uneven. What does it feel like?”

“It feels wonderful. Growing fuller and fatter with every bite is indescribably sensuous. Knowing that you are adding extra layers of soft fat to your already gluttonous belly, that you are expanding your capacity for not only larger and larger consumption but also for new flavours and textures, and smells, there’s nothing like it. I can’t wait to eat everything that this galaxy has to offer. I hope to be at least twice my current weight by the end of this tour.”

Ensign Cubby swallowed the last of his ribs and rubbed the top of his heavily protruding belly. He spoke to the replicator and ordered a hundred portions of Falugean squid. Luxurian shuffled uncomfortably but Ensign Cubby didn’t notice. He was too busy dangling the greasy tentacles into his gaping mouth. He swallowed his first handful whole and savoured the smooth salty taste. Luxurian distracted himself by staring at Ensign Cubby’s belly as it slowly began to fill and expand.

“I’ve never asked you this before, but, would it be okay if I touched your stomach?” Ensign Cubby looked up at the alien, “Why?” “I’ve just never touched a human belly before. I want to know what a Surplus really feels like.” Ensign Cubby considered this for a moment and then shrugged his broad shoulders, “Yeah, why not,” he said, “I guess we’re going to be spending a lot of time together, we may as well get to know each other.”

Luxurian’s tentacle felt weird but warm. It slid across the expansive arch of Ensign Cubby’s belly and rubbed itself under his heavy, doughy chest. The young officer groaned with pleasure as he reached forward to start on a plate of Xulian soufflé. Luxurian liked how soft and smooth his friend’s tight stretched skin was. To an octopoid like him it felt like velvet. As Cubby devoured the soufflé he began to relax and soon found himself descending into a world of unknown pleasure. Without needing to ask, Luxorian’s tentacles began to explore other parts of Ensign Cubby’s body. They wrapped themselves around his thunderously fat thighs, slithered along his love handles, and eventually found their way between his heavy ass cheeks and around his manhood. Still he kept eating between every groan. The two young officers became entwined in a gluttonous orgy of pleasure of the sort that neither of them had known before. As Ensign Cubby’s stomach finally became full and overloaded with otherworldly delights, just as he began to consider the fact that he was actually full - Luxurian’s suckers began to emit a subtle methane gas that caused the gluttonous young ensign’s fat to quiver. The smell was delectable and Ensign Cubby licked his lips in uncontrollable anticipation just as one of the tentacles moved across his face. He grabbed at the appendage and sucked it into his mouth. It was sweet and salty and ever so succulent. Luxurian screamed in shock, but his own juicy green blood betrayed him as it leaked out over Ensign Cubby’s tongue. It had been years since Cubby had eaten non-replicated seafood, and he had never tasted anything this fresh before. He groaned and sighed with pleasure as the first tentacle made its way down his throat. Luxurian begged for mercy, but it was to no avail. Ensign Cubby was too hungry. He had trained for this. As Ensign Cubby slipped the end of the second tentacle in between his lips, Luxurian emitted a scent, a fragrance designed to warn off predators on his homeworld, but to Ensign Cubby it just smelt like boy farts, and only served to make him hungrier. As the last centimetre of the eighth tentacle slid down his throat, Ensign Cubby leaned back and rubbed his massively extended abdomen. He had never felt so fat, so full before - and they hadn’t even left the space dock.

“Ensign Cubby report to the bridge, Ensign Cubby report to the bridge.”

Cubby opened his eyes and emitted a half yawn half burp sound. He looked at his screen. He was late for his first shift. He felt his belly jiggle as he extricated his heavy body from the bed. Damn he had eaten a lot last night.

As the turbolift doors opened onto the bridge, Ensign Tubby followed his huge stomach out of them, and took his seat at the helm. “Nice of you to join us, Ensign.” The Captain said. “Sorry, Sir.” Cubby didn’t know what to say, being late for your first ever shift was not a good start.

“Ensign, do you happen to know where Lieutenant Luxurian Gas is? He’s your roommate isn’t he? No one can find him.”

Ensign Cubby shifted uncomfortably in his seat causing a bout of gas to escape from his top and bottom ends. The Captain looked at him suspiciously and noticed a small jiggle under the heavy layers of fat encasing his stomach. At least a small part of Luxurian was still alive.

“Ensign?” The Captain asked. It was clear to Ensign Cubby that the Captain was a man with a good eye for the expanded stomachs of young recruits. He knew instinctively that there would be no fooling him. “I’m sorry, Sir, but he was so delicious. I couldn’t help myself.” As if done on purpose to back up his point, Ensign Cubby burped loudly. It smelt of boy farts.

“Did it really taste that good?” The Captain asked him. “Oh, yes Sir! It was the best seafood ever. You have no idea how sweet and salty and succulent it was. Really, Sir, it was so much better than anything on Earth!”

“Ok, Ensign,” The Captain said, “I trust you. You have an exemplary record from the academy. The best I have ever seen. You are in fact by far the fattest new ensign that I have ever seen.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Set a course for the Grandiloquent homeworld, warp nine. We have some culinary discovering to do!”

“Yes, Sir!”

Ensign Cubby’s stomach rumbled loudly.