Rafaroy

by T. J. Quinn

  She kept telling him, he was overreacting, but he couldn’t stop.

  When they finally managed to contact the cyborgs on Arcadia, the whole island heard his shout of joy.

  “Finally… we have been trying to contact you for months…” he told Jarcor.

  “Well, we have been looking for you all that time. No one seemed to know anything about you,” Jarcor replied. “Is Bretdon with you?”

  “Bretdon? No, I haven’t seen him in a long time. Did he manage to escape as well?” Rafaroy asked, surprised.

  “So we heard, but he hasn’t been in touch with us either.”

  “I’m here with Zandar. I helped him escape from a protection camp.”

  “That’s great news. Are you ready to come here with us?”

  “I’m more than ready. We need to get there as fast as possible. We have a medical emergency I’ll explain when you guys get here,” Rafaroy explained.

  “We’re on our way. It will take us three days to get there. Give me your coordinates,” he asked.

  “Did Khajal manage to escape?”

  “Yes, he’s been here for a few months now.”

  “Perfect, I’ll be more than glad to see you all.”

  After they ended the communication, they spent the rest of the night celebrating. In three days, they would be on their way home.

  Elena was happy, but deep down, she was a bit worried. She had no idea how the other cyborgs would receive her and her sister, on their planet, but she didn’t share her worries with Rafaroy. He was already too stressed with the baby’s arrival to add more.

  She did her best to hide her worries from him, sure she was overreacting, but even so, when their vessel landed on the island, her heart missed a beat.

  Three cyborgs came out of the vessel and met the men on the beach. Hugs and laughs echoed around while the girls watched from afar. Alanna seemed as worried as Elena felt.

  “Do you think they will want to take us with them?” the little girl asked in a lower tone.

  “Rafaroy seems to be sure of it. We’ll have to wait and see.”

  Rafaroy greeted Jarcor and the men with him with enthusiasm. They were finally there, and he would be able to take Elena out of this planet.

  “You told us about a medical emergency, so we brought Haycor, one of our doctors,” Jarcor said, signaling one of the men with him. “So, what’s the problem? You guys look pretty healthy to me.”

  “It’s not any of us. My female is pregnant, and she is soon to give birth to my child,” Rafaroy explained, with a stern tone.

  Haycor gasped. “You didn’t mention you were with a cyborg female.”

  “That’s because I’m not. She’s human.”

  Haycor exchanged an astonished look with Jarcor. “There has to be a pattern here. It’s the second one in a very short period of time,” Haycor stated.

  “Yes, you’re right,” Jarcor agreed.

  “What the hell are you guys talking about?” Rafaroy asked, with a deep frown.

  “Khajal also managed to get his female pregnant. She has just given birth to a very healthy baby cyborg,” Jarcor explained.

  “Please, tell me you’ve assisted her in the birth…” Rafaroy said, turning to look at Haycor.

  “Yes, of course, I did. We had to perform a C-section because the baby was too big for her birth canal,” Haycor replied, looking around.

  “Yes, that’s what I was afraid of. We have no means to perform a C-section on her here on this island. And taking to a human’s hospital was out of the question. Though her slave’s code bar is long gone, she still has the nipple rings,” Rafaroy explained. “Not to mention they would find out the baby is a cyborg.”

  “Of course. Where is she? I want to see her,” Haycor asked, barely containing his enthusiasm.

  “On the shelter, we built, with her younger sister,” Rafaroy showed him the way and motioned Zandar to guide the other man. He needed to talk with Jarcor. “As you might assume, I’m not going anywhere without the girls. I know I should have told you about them when I asked you to come here, but I was desperate to get her the help she needs.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. Though humans could be considered our enemies, they are also our creators and not all of them treat us like machines,” Jarcor pointed out. “I’m sure your female is in that smaller group and she’ll be more than welcome in Arcadia, especially now, that she’ll give birth to cyborg baby.”

  Rafaroy sighed with relief. “I have to admit I was a bit worried about that. She’s become very important for me, and I wouldn’t go anywhere without her.”

  Jarcor let out a deep sigh. “That’s starting to feel like an epidemic. Khajal feels the same about his female.”

  Elena watched Zandar approaching the shelter with one of the men, and her heart missed a bit. Rafaroy had stayed behind with a man she was sure was Jarcor, considering all she had heard about the man.

  “Elena, Alanna, allow me to introduce you to Haycor. He’s a doctor, and he’s just helped the first human female to give birth to a cyborg baby.” Zandar said, with a wide smile. “Haycor, she’s Elena and her sister Alanna.”

  “Oh, that is great news. I feel I’m about to burst,” she said, with a faint smile.

  “Not on my watch,” the man assured her, smiling. “Would you mind if I take a look at that baby?” he asked, signaling a small bag he was carrying.

  “No, of course not.” She guided him to her bed, and after lying on it, the man took something out of the bag.

  “This is a portable scanner. I’ll be able to see the baby and calculate how much time we have left, comparing it with Jerrant’s records. Jerrant is Khajal’s baby,” he explained.

  She nodded and watched him running the device over her huge belly.

  “This is a big boy, that’s for sure. I guess he could be born right away, but he seems comfortable in your belly, so we should have enough time to get to Arcadia. There, we would perform a C-section, to prevent any possible problems,” Haycor added.

  She truly hoped he was right. “He’s too big for me to deliver him,” she agreed.

  “Yes, I would think so too. I’m guessing Rafaroy’s nanocybots adopted you as well, right?”

  She nodded. “Yes, that’s what we’ve assumed, since my Taucets’ tattoo is totally gone” she explained, showing him her neck.

  “Yes, the same happened to Khajal’s woman. Don’t you know where I can meet a woman like you two?” he asked, with an amused tone. “You have brought hope to our people. Knowing we can reproduce naturally is a huge step for us.”

  “Yes, Rafaroy has told me about it.”

  “All we have to find out now is what makes the nanocybots adopt the female.”

  “There must be a common factor.”

  “Yes, we just don’t know what it is,” the doctor replied, scowling.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Rafaroy joined them with a wide smile. “How’s everything, Haycor?”

  “She’s ready to give birth, but I’m sure he’ll wait until we’re on Arcadia. But we should leave as soon as possible,” Haycor said, with a slight frown, turning to look at Elena. “Do you still have the Taucets’ trackers?”

  “If you mean the rings, then yes, I do,” she replied.

  “We need to deactivate them. The process is a bit painful, but we can’t leave this place with them activated. It’s too dangerous,” Jarcor said, entering the shelter.

  Rafaroy made the introductions and looked at Haycor. “Won’t that represent a problem for the baby?”

  “No, I really don’t think so, but at this point, we can’t know for sure.”

  “Just do it. We’re wasting time,” she asked, with a wavering smile.

  She wasn’t as convinced as the doctor the baby would wait until they were on Arcadia.

  Haycor nodded, and helping her stand, he motioned Rafaroy to hold her in his arms while he connected a small device to the rings attached to her nipples.

  “We need
to fry the circuitry inside the rings. It’s the only way we’ve found to deactivate them. No woman seems too eager on having her nipples cut open to remove the ring,” Haycor explained.

  She frowned. “Of course not,” she rejected the idea immediately.

  “It would be easier,” he insisted, with a wicked grin.

  “Thank you, but no, thank you,” she said, in a cold tone.

  “Get ready then.”

  A jolt of energy rushed through her nipples and she gasped, closing her eyes, while she buried her fingernails on Rafaroy’s forearms.

  God, the pain was terrible, but it only lasted a few moments.

  “It’s done,” Haycor announced. “Now, let’s get out of here.”

  Elena nodded, but she couldn’t move for a few moments. Her baby was kicking hard inside her. Clearly, he hadn't enjoyed the pain and was protesting the best way he knew. He had never been too active, she guessed for lack of space, but now, he was acting like a baby in a full tantrum.

  “Wait… the baby isn’t very pleased,” she explained, when Rafaroy tried to help her up.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked, worried.

  She took his hands and put them on her belly for him to feel the baby. “He’s protesting,” she explained, scowling.

  Rafaroy was amazed. He had never felt the baby move that way. He still remembered the first time she had shown him move inside her. It had been a fantastic experience, but it had nothing to do with what he was feeling now.

  “Hey, little fellow… you’re scaring mom. The pain is gone, I promise,” he said, talking directly to her belly.

  Incredibly, it seemed to work. The baby slowed his movements, and a few moments later he stopped completely.

  “Good boy. Just hang in there a bit more. You’ll be soon on mom’s arms,” he added, caressing her belly, before kissing it.

  Elena smiled, amazed. Though she had never thought about it, now she was sure Rafaroy would be an excellent father. She had seen him with Alanna, teaching her patiently and being always there for her, whenever she had needed him in the months they had spent on the island.

  They picked all the things they were taking with them, and after they stored the small Taucet vessel in the cargo area of their vessel, they were ready to leave.

  “I’ll miss this place,” she confessed to Rafaroy, as they walked slowly to the vessel. Zandar and Alanna had already boarded, eager to leave.

  “I know what you mean. I’ll miss it too, but I’m glad we’re finally leaving. We need the peace of mind of living in a safe place, for a change.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  Once they boarded, the vessel took off, and a few minutes later they were leaving the planet’s atmosphere. Feeling a bit tired, Elena went to their chambers and lay down on the bed.

  It felt amazing lying on a real mattress after all those months, she quickly fell asleep.

  A sharp pain in her belly woke her up, and she gasped, startled. She stayed still, for a moment to see if the pain returned and less than a minute later, it did.

  She was in labor. The baby wasn’t waiting any longer.

  Struggling with the pain and her heavy belly, she got up. She needed to find Rafaroy and Haycor. She had no idea how to call them from the room so she would have to go find them.

  The contractions seemed to get faster with each step she took, and she was about to start shouting when Rafaroy and Haycor showed up on the other side of the hallway she was on.

  “Elena, what’s going on?” Rafaroy ran to meet her.

  “The baby… it’s on his way…” she muttered, through the waves of pain.

  “He can’t. We can’t have a C-section here,” he said, panicking.

  “Love… I don’t think he cares about that…” she yelled, as pain rushed through her body.

  “Let’s take her to the infirmary. I need to check the situation,” Haycor urged them.

  Rafaroy picked her in his arms and followed the doctor down the hall. Elena could tell he was scared. She could feel his heart drumming in his chest a dangerous speed.

  “We’ll be fine. We’re not alone anymore,” she whispered in his ear.

  “I can’t lose you, you know that, don’t you?” he replied, in a stern tone.

  She nodded, as another contraction hit her with all its might.

  Once at the infirmary, he put her down on an examination table, while Haycor grabbed the scanner and started to check her.

  “The baby is set on the birth canal. In fact…” he started, dropping the scanner on a small table nearby and pulling Elena’s pants down.

  “What are you doing?” Rafaroy snarled.

  “I’m a doctor, Rafaroy,” the other man remembered the jealous warrior in front of him, without stopping. “I need to see if the baby’s crowning.” With her pants and panties out of the way, he made her spread her legs wide. The baby was crowning. “A C-section is not a choice, now. We have to deliver this baby,” he announced, in a stern tone.

  “You can’t. You’ll kill her,” Rafaroy protested.

  “The head is practically out, Rafaroy. Her hips stretched enough,” Haycor pointed out, picking a pair of gloves and all he needed to sterilize the area as best as he could. “Get some gloves too, I’ll need your help,” he ordered Rafaroy. “Elena, you’ll have to push now. Do you think you can do it?” he asked her.

  Breathing hard, she nodded. The pain was now really intense, and all she wanted was for it to end.

  “Very well, push as hard as you can with the next contraction.”

  “Yes… god…” she yelled, as she pushed.

  She lost track of how many times she pushed, but it felt like an eternity had gone by before she heard the baby’s cry.

  “Here he is…” Haycor announced, with a wide smile, depositing the baby over her belly.

  Sobbing, she hugged him, pulling him closer to her. As suspected, the baby was mostly cyborg, though his skin color looked more humanoid than Rafaroy’s.

  He was amazing. She couldn’t stop crying and laughing at the same time, while she looked at the baby, cuddling against her.

  Rafaroy was there, staring at them as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  “We have a baby, Raf…” she said, with rapture on her face.

  He leaned forward and hugged her along with the baby. “I can’t start to explain how I feel right now… I had never expected to have anything like this in my life…” he kissed her lips gently and then, kissed the baby’s head.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’re not done…” Haycor said, looking at them. There was a hint of healthy envy in his eyes, and Elena wished he could experience the huge emotion they were.

  He picked the baby from Elena’s arms and after quickly cleaning him and removing any extra fluids from his nose and mouth, he wrapped the baby in a small blanket and handed him to Rafaroy.

  “It’s time to expel the placenta,” he explained, and after working a few minutes with Elena, he finished with her as well.

  Rafaroy had taken a seat nearby and was staring at the baby, still having trouble to believe he was real.

  Elena smiled at the picture. “How do you think it was possible for me to deliver the baby? He must be around ten pounds…” she asked Haycor.

  “Yes, he is… I guess the nanocybots worked on your hips changing them to make them suitable for delivery.

  “They can do that?” she asked, surprised.

  “You would be surprised at all they can do. I’m sure they have already changed your DNA structure as they see fit. You’re no longer one hundred percent human,” he told her.

  “I can’t say I care,” she said with a wide smile.

  He picked her hand and kissed the back. “Welcome to our world, Elena,” he said before he turned around and left the room, taking the baby with him. The other passengers of the vessel were eager to see him, and the happy couple needed some time alone.

  “How are you feeling?” Rafaroy asked, kissing her.


  “Sore… but happier than ever…” she assured him, kissing him back.

  “I never thought I would know love… we grew up alone, with no parents and trained to be warriors above all… the only warm feelings I’ve ever felt while growing up were towards my friends. We all felt like brothers, and that feeling bonded us in ways the humans couldn’t explain,” he said, in a low tone. “Knowing you changed my life forever… I know I’ve dragged you with me ever since we met, but you have given me more than I thought possible to have. I love you… and I’m not saying this expecting you to love me back… looking back, I haven’t done much to deserve that love… I just thought you deserved to know how I felt.”

  She chuckled, amazed at how happy she was feeling. She couldn’t believe her tough warrior had just admitted he loved her. “Rafaroy… I love you… I know we’ve met under the strangest circumstances… but you were in my heart so fast I couldn’t believe it was real,” she muttered. “Being with you has made me happier than ever, despite the chaos around us.”

  With a wide smile, he leaned forward and claimed a passionate kiss from her lips, only releasing her when they were both breathless.

  “It’s a good thing you love me… because I had no intention of letting you go. I was already planning how I would keep you beside me…”

  She laughed happily. “I’m not going anywhere, believe me. Being with you is all I want.”

  He kissed her again until they were interrupted by a gentle knock on the door.

  Alanna was eager to see her sister.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  They arrived at Arcadia three days later. Incredibly, Elena felt great. It was obvious the nanocybots had been working in her at full speed to return her body to its normal state. She was almost completely recovered from the pregnancy and the birth.

  They were received by a small welcome committee at Arcadia, but what made her happier was to see Savannah amongst the people welcoming them.

  “I can’t believe this… you’re here…” Elena said, hugging her friend laughing and crying excitedly.