Reunited

Finding One’s True Self: Part 52

By Xan Steel

Doctor Graphra a Derlenian whose fur color was mostly tan, with a grey pelt. He stood about eleven feet in height and carried a bit of a belly on him. He’s an outgoing individual in the presents of others, but when it came to his work his seriousness came out in full force. He waited patiently at the airlock while the Sartorgan cruiser performed it’s docking maneuvers.

Julyna had gotten in contact with him during their travel on the cruiser to let him know when they would be arriving. The GrandMaster was also waiting with him, and he was both anxious and excited to finally reveal everything to Rubicant, and get things started.

Daria decided it would be best for Tarusk, Ba’naria, and herself to wait until later to reveal themselves fully to Rubicant. Making sure it didn’t distract him from the real goal of what was to happen to him. Though to be honest they really did want to see him and tell him the good news.

***

The sound of the docking port from the cruiser attaching and locking in place was heard, both Dr. Graphra and the GrandMaster straighten up and waited for the door to open. The loud hiss of pressurization of the airlock is heard as a few seconds pass to have the door open to reveal the Captain and few others behind him. He walked over to greet him. “Ah, Captain Kartol it’s good to see you again.” Graphra said in a pleasant tone.

“Maynar, it is good to see you again old friend, and how’s the misses doing?” Kartol asked in a pleasant tone of his own.

“Daria? As busy as always finding something new to fix.” Graphra replied with a smile.

The GrandMaster walked over to them as Kartol turned to greet him. “Good to see you Master, I hope you are well,” he stated.

“Doing as good as I can be.” He replied and then asked, “How is Rubicant doing?”

It was at this point that Julyna walked out alone to meet the GrandMaster. She did a small respectful bow to him, then standing back to look at him before speaking in a gentle tone. “It’s taken him nearly eight days to recover, but he’s doing well now” she explained.

“I’m glad to hear that, I know the three of you have had it rough lately, so we have a room prepared for you to stay in,” Dr. Graphra said.

Julyna turned to Graphra, “There are a few others that would like to stay here, if you have the space,” she said as Graphra stated he had a few other spare rooms that he would need help cleaning them out first, but they were fine with staying for a while. It was at this point that Iris, while supporting Rubicant with her arm, walked up to greet everyone.

 The GrandMaster came over to them and greeted them. “Welcome to your new temporary home.”

Iris spoke first in a pleasant tone, “Thank you Master.”

Rubicant was still tired both mentally and physically, so he wasn’t thinking to clearly when he spoke, “So, when does the probing of my anus begin?” Both Dr. Graphra and the GrandMaster just looked at him with odd expressions, as three distinct laughers could be heard down the hall.

The GrandMaster decided to ignore Rubicant’s silliness, “I’ll take you to your room for now. You’ll need to rest up before we can do,” he clears his throat, “The probing part.” It was at this point the three laughter’s they heard grew louder added by what sounded like someone beating on a hard surface.

***

Once they settled Iris and Rubicant in, Julyna helped the others clean up three more rooms, for Tygera, Raybia, and Feros with Samantha. Once they finished the GrandMaster took Julyna to the kitchen have a talk with her, as she began to make a pot of Forrest Brew. “Would you tell me what happened to Rubicant. I tried to read him earlier, but for some reason his mind is closed to me.”

Julyna sat down with her cup, once the brewer had finished, and looked at her cup before answering him. “We almost lost him,” she said quietly as she felt the GrandMaster’s shock. “He took it upon himself to save Raybia, and without formal training, encapsulated her consciousness for a total of thirty-two hours, while Samantha and Iris repaired Raybia’s body.” Julyna paused there for a moment while taking a sip of her brew, then continued. “Iris told me that during our escape, he tried to encapsulate Altair’s consciousness once he felt the mental link between the three of us sever.”

The GrandMaster gently placed his handpaw on hers and spoke softly and asked, “I take it she stopped him?”

Julyna looked at him as a single tear ran down her right cheek and nodded to him. She then asked the question that had been burning in her mind for a while now, “What are you planning to do with our Rubi?”

The GrandMaster looked at her and thought to himself, that perhaps now was the time to inform everyone of what was going to happen to him. “Come, it’s time I finally revealed what my plan is to everyone.”

***

Once everyone was gathered in the main experiment hall. The GrandMaster began to explain things. He looked at Rubicant, “There are a number of things that I must tell you, but I can only reveal one thing for right now. I’m sure by now you are aware that you are the Derlenian Progenitor.” Rubicant nodded. “That means you carry a specific protein the rest of us need to survive.” The GrandMaster paused for a moment. “Dr. Graphra believes he can safely remove the protein from your body.”

Rubicant spoke up in a concerned tone, “How does he plan to do that, and pass it on?”

The GrandMaster looked at him with a small smile, “He is going to turn you into a Derlenian. This should make the protein detach from your DNA chains and allow us to remove them safely. This way Dr. Graphra can start working on a more permanent solution for the Derlenian species.”

Rubicant was a bit surprised to hear that they had planned to turn him into a Derlenian, as it was for him a dream come true, but he also picked up on something from the GrandMaster. It was an image, but he didn’t understand it. It was almost as if the GrandMaster was hinting that they were close somehow. Rubicant then turned to Dr. Graphra and asked, “What exactly is going to happen and how long is this going to take?”

Dr. Graphra held up a clear canister filled with a thick peach colored fluid. “This is synthetic amniotic fluid that was crafted from your Memaw’s original amniotic fluid, it has also been designed to be oxygenated and breathable through the lungs. I figured it would be easier to use her fluid to convert your DNA to Derlenian. You’ll be sleeping in a fluid filled chamber for two cycles. In the simplest of terms, you will be reborn.” Graphra stated in a slightly excited tone.

Rubicant heard of synthetic amniotic fluid back on earth, as well as breathable fluid. However, he had also heard it could be traumatic depending on the individual. As breathing fluid is something one doesn’t do, so getting pass the body’s natural thought of drowning. That would be the hardest thing he's ever done. He sighed openly before speaking, “There’s no other way this can be done?”

Graphra looked at him with concern with a tone to match, “Sadly, no. The process only starts to begin once you have been completely submerged and breathing the fluid for forty-eight hours.”

The GrandMaster spoke up, “Our time is short, and we are already past the limits of our species, as it has been brought to my attention that several hundred thousand have already died. Due to the lack of the protein.” He finished in a somber tone.

Rubicant then thought of something else, only because he was feeling hungry, “How will I receive nutrients in this chamber?” He asked openly.

Graphra spoke again, “I’ll be passing liquid supplements through the fluid, that your lungs can absorb. So, the only thing you may feel is hungry, but I’m going to solve that by putting you under sedation. The less stress you go through during this transformation, the greater the success.” He finished with enthusiasm.

Iris spoke up with a concerned tone, “Is this completely safe for him? Because if it isn’t, I don’t want him going through it if we are going to lose him.”

Graphra turned to look at her and spoke with confidence, “It’s completely safe, as I have been preparing for this moment for thirty cycles.”

Julyna was suddenly hit with Deja-vu, as she remembered the transfer incident back on Travaina IV so long ago. She saw Rubicant turn to look at her, only to realize she had subconsciously projected it to him.

***

Everything had been set for 0800 hours once things had been fully explained. Iris, Rubicant, and Julyna headed back to their quarters to have dinner. As Rubicant was preparing dinner, he kept having this nagging feeling that there was more to him then what they had said. Such as them changing him into a Derlenian, how could they do that viably unless he had been born a Derlenian. Otherwise Rya being his Memaw in this galaxy, made no sense. Once everything was finished being prepared, he sat down with his mates and ate with them.

***

Rubicant couldn't stop tossing and turning that night, and decided to let the females sleep, as he quietly wandered about the station. There were a few things going through his mind that made him feel uneasy about tomorrow. His biggest one was, not drowning in front of everyone. He had heard the success stories back on Earth about breathing fluid. However, those that used it said many times, it wasn’t an easy task. Those that didn’t prepare themselves before hand, could never go swimming again for fear of breathing in regular water and dying.

The other thing that he was in question of, was he really an earthling. What brought this train of thought on was several different things. The fact that Dr. Graphra mentioned “synthetic amniotic fluid” that they made from his Memaw’s natural fluid. Plus, the one thing that kept nagging at him. The female claiming to be his real Memaw. If Rya is his real Memaw, then how come his body showed no Derlenian traits? By all accounts he should have been the tallest human ever alive. That wasn’t the case. He had all normal human traits.

He sighed openly, was he thinking to deeply into this? Was this a slow but simple procedure? Should he just accept the fact his dream to be like his mates was about to become true? Everything happening seemed too good to be true, and yet it was happening.

He looked out the bay windows he remembered seeing in the arboretum. The obsidian sea before him was filled with twinkling stars, a small purplish planet, and a vast nebula whose colors ranged from greens and yellows. After a few seconds he noticed a reflection in the window, it was Feros. He turned to look at him as Feros spoke in a concerned tone. “You can’t sleep either?” He asked.

Rubicant looked at him for a moment before answering, “I don’t know how to feel right now. Scared, happy, intrigued, I simply don’t have an answer.”

Feros sat down in a nearby chair and spoke again, “You’ve been through so much since you’ve been with us. I’m not at all surprised if you have any trepidations about this entire change they want to do.”

Rubicant joined him sitting in another chair near him. He sighed softly and spoke just as quiet, “In a lot of ways this is like a dream come true for me, but I’ve always been wary of the ‘If it seems too good to be true, it likely is’ scenario.”

Feros looked at him more closely before speaking, “That’s some sound wisdom, and if I was in your boots, I don’t think I could go through with it. However, that being said, I haven’t lived your life, and I know you mentioned a long while ago that if you could find a way to remove all traces of your past, you’d jump at the chance.”

Rubicant looked at him and asked a question that was also asking for some wisdom, “Am I jumping at this, for the sake of wanting to be a Derlenian?”

Feros smiled softly at him, “If you have to ask, then I don’t believe you are. Though I think the biggest thing bothering you that you are potentially ignoring, is the whole being a savior to an entire species.”

Rubicant stared at him intently, because it had slipped his mind. This brought another thought to light, were they using this to force him into it. “I guess the next question I should ask is, are they using sympathy against me to force me into this?”

Feros cocked his head to the side and spoke, “I guess that depends on how important your mates are to you. Are you willing to go through this for them?”

Rubicant had a sudden look of shock cross his face as he looked at Feros, realizing that if he wanted to live a long life with them, as well as, have a family, then he would need to go through with this. He sighed softly after a moment, “I just wish I had been told this a lot sooner, to give me more time to think on it. I don’t like rushing into things, without knowing everything,” Rubicant finished.

Feros leaned over an put his handpaw on Rubicant’s hand, “That is understandable, but with having known you all these cycles. I can safely say, you are a far wiser person than I. You look at everything before making your decision. Not many individuals do.” He paused for only a moment before continuing, “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, with regards to them changing you. Though I do feel with how everything has been explained. I would say that you were, at the very least, conceived as a Derlenian,” he finished.

Rubicant looked at him with some mild surprise for thinking he was conceived as a Derlenian. It did however make him feel reassured that he wasn’t the only one to come to that conclusion.

***

Rubicant returned to their room around 0100 and noticed Iris sitting on the edge of the bed with Julyna curled around her from behind, while Iris was softly petting her head and neck. He sensed that they had just finished being intimate with each other. He smiled at them both feeling their happiness and relaxed state, which made him feel better overall.

Iris spoke softly to him, “I noticed that you are feeling better about tomorrow.” She then asked, “Did Feros help clear some things up for you?”

Rubicant leaned in a kissed her and then Julyna before speaking gently himself, “Yes he did, especially with having had all this information laid on me so soon.”

Julyna quietly spoke, “I wasn’t sure how you would handle it, I know you like knowing things in advanced, so you can make a better decision.”

Rubicant softly laughed, “One of the things I’ve learned being in this galaxy is, that not everything is revealed at once. People seem to like leaving things out on purpose. Seems like surprise is the name of the game here,” he finished while sitting next to Iris and Julyna and softly petting Julyna’s head and neck.

***

As 0800 approached, Rubicant, Iris, and Julyna entered the main experiment room as both the GrandMaster and Dr. Graphra were already there getting things ready. Rubicant noticed another person there he had never seen before, a female black Derlenian. He looked her over and sensed that she was familiar to him, but he couldn’t place her.

Dr. Graphra came over to Rubicant and spoke to him like a doctor would. “All right, in order to ensure this process has the best chance of succeeding, I need you to remove all of your clothes and step into the chamber here.” He pointed to a round pad like device on the floor, and as Rubicant looked above it, he noticed a large glass like tube above it. Dr. Graphra noticed him looking up and spoke again. “That tube will be lowered down over you to complete the seal. Then I’ll fill the chamber with the fluid I showed you yesterday. Then if all goes well, you’ll be sleeping within twenty-four hours thereafter.”

Rubicant turned to look at him and spoke in a concerned tone, “And you’re a hundred percent sure the fluid is breathable?”

Dr. Graphra looked at him as he heard the concern in his voice and spoke in a more personal tone with him. “I understand how you feel, but I did personally test it. You have nothing to fear here, as we all want this to succeed.”

Rubicant sighed softly and began to remove his clothing as the Black Female Derlenian took his clothes. Rubicant could only assume she was Dr. Graphra’s assistant. Yet the nagging feeling that he knew her never left his mind. Once he finished, he stepped over to the pad, and stood there as the large glass tube above slowly lowered over him and sealed tight.

He watched as the chamber began to slowly fill from the bottom, as the air he was breathing was removed from the top. His nervousness spiked and everyone could feel it. Iris and Julyna both walked up to the tube and began to send him relaxing thoughts. Reassuring him that everything was going to be fine. This started to work until the fluid was past his head, and then panic set in. His hands went to the side of the tube to try and push on it in the hopes of pushing it over. Iris tried desperately to calm his mind, but his panic was overwhelming her. Julyna grabbed Iris and held on to her as Rubicant’s panic started filling her mind, as Iris cried out for Rubicant stating that he wanted to be let out.

It was at this point the Black female Derlenian walked up to the glass tube and placed her hand on it and spoke directly to Rubicant’s mind. ‘Danny, please relax and breathe.’

Hearing Maria’s voice in his mind sent Rubicant into surprise, as it caused him to involuntarily breathe in the fluid. He choked for a short while as his lungs began to fill with the fluid. After he settled into breathing the fluid, he looked at the female and spoke to her mentally. ‘Maria? Is it really you?’

He watched her smile at him as two others he hadn’t seen before came over to look at him. A golden Male Phalynian and a black, white, and grey patch colored Bulorian. They both placed their handpaws on her shoulders as she spoke again. ‘Yes Danny, it’s me, and this is Mathew, and Sandra. Our names have changed though. I’m now called Daria, and this,’ she said turning to Mathew ‘is Tarusk’, then turning to Sandra ‘and this is Ba’naria’ she finished.

Rubicant looked at the three of them, as they could feel his emotion come over them from Daria. ‘How?’ was all he could think to say.

Daria spoke in a sweet tone to him, ‘Suffice to say, Dr. Graphra has ways. But for now, since they can’t really speak to you, I just want you to relax. Once this is complete the three of us can sit down and talk’ she finished.

Rubicant nodded to her and the others as Iris and Julyna came back over. Rubicant softly to Iris, ‘I’m sorry’ he said.

Iris looked at for a moment before speaking, ‘What for Rubi?’ She questioned.

‘For panicking like that, and letting you feel it.’ He replied.

Iris smiled to him, ‘It’s all right hun, I was hoping that if I remained connected to you, that it would help lessen your panic’ she said.

‘I think the only reason it didn’t was because this is a sealed chamber. Adding to my fear.’ Rubicant stated.

Dr. Graphra came over to the chamber and mentally spoke to Rubicant. ‘I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be putting you into a gentle anti-gravity field inside the chamber, so you’ll be free floating inside. This will do two things. One, make it easier for the fluid to completely surround you, and the second is to give you more comfort than standing up or laying down on the floor’ he explained as Rubicant nodded in understanding.

Rubicant began to feel himself start to float up off the floor. He did his best not to move, as he was unsure if moving would cause him to start to flip about inside the chamber. Once he began to relax his body, is when he felt more comfortable floating inside the tube.

***

A few days passed as Dr. Graphra received an incoming communication from Admiral Torid. He answered it and spoke, “Admiral Torid, it’s good to hear from you. How is everything?”

Torid spoke to him, but it was easy to hear his distress. “I hope I’m not coming at a bad time, but my mate, Cartina, as you know is in need of help.”

This peeked Dr. Graphra interests as he spoke in a more curious questioning tone, “What’s happened with her?”

As Torid spoke, his concern increased. “Her Doctor back on Valdoro told her that her DNA is degrading and gave her four cycles to live.”

Graphra thought this was interesting only because of the timing. He decided to test Torid on his sincerity and asked that one question from so long ago that Torid told him to ask, if he should ever question his reason. “Have you finally made the decision to have a family?”

Torid looked at him for a moment, as the memory of his anniversary with Cartina on Ruinta Island came to mind.

Graphra noticed that his eyes never waivered from his as he watched him answer.

“I want nothing more than to have a family with the love of my life.” Torid replied to him.

Graphra could hear the resolute in his voice, as Daria told him mentally that he was desperate to save her to have that family. Graphra smiled at him, “Docking Bay Two will be ready for your arrival friend.”

Torid smiled back at him, “Thank you friend” he replied.