Chapter 34: Feral
"He went where?" squawked Nightfall. Her voice rose in disbelief, generating a grunt out of Chuckie and scaring off some approaching street vendors.
"He went after Gary," AVA said.
"This is on you, AVA," HUE chimed in, happy to sling a little mud for once. The other AI ignored him, and Nightfall frowned. "You should have stopped him."
Nightfall shook her head, knowing the chances of anyone trying to stop Avocato when he was on the warpath registered in negative numbers. "Not the time, HUE. Has he called in?"
"He pinged his location six minutes ago. Sending his last known location to your comm unit."
Standing beneath the awning of a closed shop to escape the downpour, Nightfall studied the map. "Fox was right. Isolated warehouses. Where are Ash and Fox now?"
"They're here," said AVA, highlighting another point on the map. "They've met up with Mooncake and are making their way on foot to you."
"Tell them to stop and wait for me. Have them find somewhere open for Chuckie to land. I'll meet up with them and we'll head over together."
She closed the comm line and let out a sigh, shaking her head and reaching over to give Chuckie a scratch behind his ears. She should have known this would happen. Gary had immense capacity to be dumb and when it came to Gary, Avocato was just as capable. "At least you listen, boy."
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"What in the - ?"
"Be that - ?"
Avocato could not help but smirk as he raced to engage his next targets. There was no denying it - he loved this. He always had and deep down, he knew he always would. The challenge of pitting himself against an unknown opponent, of testing his strength and skill. Battle was, for him, living life to its fullest, even though he knew each moment could be his last. It took everything he had, but at the end, if he was still standing, he gained so much more than he had given. This was everything he had worked for all his life, refined down to its purest form. Few things could rival this, though he had learned long ago the only emotion that could surpass this passion was his love for his son.
"F'in' beag! That's Avocato!"
Catomar would have shaken his head and huffed in distaste at what a vicious brawler his brother had turned into, while Catowba would have smiled indulgently and with a glow of pride at such perfect savagery out of his Little Cato. His mother would have been torn between horror and trying to find a way to support his interests while keeping her youngest child from harm. Only his father had truly understood the glorious thrill and intensity of living he gained from the physical exertions and mental trials of combat, and so rather than leave his son to find his own outlet, he channeled Avocato's drive by letting him learn to fight.
"Can't be! He's dead. Blowed hisself up!"
And since his youngest son wanted to fight, Lord Catomar had insisted that he not only have the best teachers, but that he be the best student and fully embrace the warrior tenants.
Avocato had not disappointed. Not as a child, not as a cadet, not as the second of the Tera Con Empire. He was the fiercest of a fierce race, and right now, he was in his element.
"Then that's his ghost as just killed b'Grr and Lt. Tieg!"
"And Lt. Tieg's Delgan! Get 'em!"
The sword gripped in his hand was a genuine Regru, almost the correct size for his height, a welcome and familiar weight, well-balanced and flexible and perfectly suited for infighting. He hefted the weapon as he ran straight at the burly newcomers rushing through the docking bay doors, choosing the biggest and meanest of the lot – a Korion alpha femme with horns and tusks - for his first target. Four of the six slavers halted in the bay's doorway to raise their guns, not a one of them pausing to consider the fact that their crewmates and merchandise were in the line of fire as they took aim. The remaining pair – the Korion and a Hishin male – never slowed their charge. They would pay the price for so uncoordinated an attack.
At the last instant, just when they expected him to bring the sword down in a predictable arc and just as one of the thugs got off a shot, Avocato abruptly pivoted, angling himself between the Korion and Hishin and allowing them to get a step past him. The light gravity of Zee Secundus came to his aid, lending him speed and strength his opponents could not match. Letting his momentum spin him around, Avocato swept the Regru sword up to shoulder height and neatly and effortlessly sliced off the back of the Korion's head, killing her instantly. The blade was so fine and sharp that Avocato barely noticed the impact through bone, and nothing interrupted his smooth strike. The next instant, his booted feet stamped down hard, halting his forward motion as he dropped low in a fighting stance. Greenish blood spurted out as the Korion collapsed without a sound, making the floor slick. Instantly he reversed his direction, turning the blade back in an overhand strike as the furious Hishin, too close to aim his oversized rifle, swung the gun at Avocato's head instead. ducking beneath the improvised club, Avocato met him halfway and helped the slaver impale himself on the sword. They ended up face-to-face, Avocato smiling with ferocious pleasure and the slaver dying with a look of surprise on his face and blood on his lips.
A laser hit him in the back, then another, then two more. Avocato rocked slightly at the strikes and the numbing, stinging sensation, but did not go down as expected. A scream of panicked alarm rang out, and he glanced over to see Gary standing by Little Cato as they freed the last few slaves still in the cages, his hazel eyes wide with fear. Gary had plainly seen him shot and expected the absolute worst. Avocato gave him an expectant look, and a moment later the human sagged in relief as he remembered the shocktog. The active repulsor field built into Avocato's uniform coat had diffused the shots and the energy they provided would help power the shield. Confident his son and husband could handle any stragglers, Avocato turned, annoyed at such bad manners as to interrupt a private fight, let alone shoot him in the back, to see the other four slavers lined up to confront him.
The row of beings stared in whatever passed as slack-jawed amazement for their species, clearly expecting him to keel over dead or stunned, and shocked when he straight-up failed to meet their expectations. Instead, he braced his foot against the dead Hishin's chest and yanked the blade free with a casual kick. They were due for a lesson in fight etiquette, and Avocato was a willing teacher.
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"Oh, my god. Oh, thank god," breathed Gary, his knees weak and his hear racing as relief filled him. He had thought Avocato was dead, or as good as, and the idea of watching his best friend and co-father die again was too horrifying to consider. Gulping for air, he leaned on his knees for a moment to combat the dizziness that swept over him, knowing Little Cato would cover him if needs be. Keeping the expression on Avocato's face fresh in his mind, Gary allow himself a moment to react before shoving his jumbled emotions to the back of his mind for later contemplation. Straightening his back, he hefted the stolen gun and cracked on.
"You okay, Thunder Bandit?" pressed Little Cato.
"I haven't been that scared for almost a week. I thought – I forgot –"
"I get you." Little Cato smiled sympathetically, clearly having had a similar moment in his past. "Shocktog."
"Shocktog," Gary confirmed.
"I fell for it too, once, but I got a hug out of it."
"Oh? I'll make sure he ponies up a hug. Or eight. He owes me for that."
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It took Avocato no more than one swift glance to know exactly what he was up against: a husky but overweight Thork; a Zintibo in full mating plumage; a tall, crested reptilian being the likes of which Avocato had never seen before; and, finally, a Scoti female. That last took Avocato aback for a fraction, but at the moment, Scotia Majoran had yet to meet its fate or hate him enough to want to kill him for anything more than personal reasons. The Thork was formidable, but gone to seed and its fangs were chipped. Strength and bulk were its advantages. Zintibo tended to burn out quickly during their mating cycles, so he knew he would just have to keep it moving and wear it down. The crested reptile was an unknown, but similar enough to most bipeds that its vulnerabilities were easy to guess. And as for the Scoti . . . well, he'd fought them multiple times in the past two weeks.
Believing their lasers would be ineffective against him – an assumption that was only partially correct but their ignorance worked in Avocato's favor – a variety of bladed weapons were produced by the four slavers, including his old nemesis a laser knife gripped in the claw of the tall reptile. Well, that settled his first target, because Avocato knew what that knife could do to a shocktog, not to mention the Ventrexian underneath it, and the primary rule of combat was to take out the biggest threat first. The other knives were of concern since this particular uniform didn't incorporate body armor, but first things first.
Shifting the sword to his left hand, Avocato took advantage of their hesitation and lifted his right arm, taking aim before any of them had the sense to dodge. The wrist guard sent a small jolt up his arm as he shot a dart-tipped grappling line straight at the lizard's exposed head. The sharp metal point penetrated at the base of its neck, snapping its head back and loosening an awful, gurgling sound of pain and a spray of bluish blood. Avocato lunged to the right, yanking hard on the cable and dragging the reptile atop the Scoti, fouling her attack plan. With a flick of his wrist he retracted the line, more blood splashing his face and clothes.
The remaining slavers rallied to the trio facing Avocato, a ragged handful of lowlifes, a pathetic and tawdry gang. And, finally, looming behind them, was Korg. The Kormidorn had fetched a heavy beam fletcher, and with it, apparently, his courage. Fletchers made for a poor choice of close-range weapons, but plainly Korg wasn't about to face General Avocato without it.
Avocato's yellow eyes narrowed. These were the very people who had threatened his son's freedom, who in their greed would have gleefully sold all he had left of Purrsis. They would never care or even bother to wonder what the loss of Little Cato would have meant.
The sharp, metallic tang of blood flooded his senses, rousing the primal instinct of countless generations of killers. All the pain and frustration, the anger and grief and fear he had so carefully kept locked away came roaring to the surface, screaming for release, for a target. Conveniently, he had several. Avocato was the pinnacle of Ventrexian fighting skill and savagery, and the slavers left alive were about to witness something very few beings in the universe had ever seen and fewer had lived to tell about.
Something inside him snapped. Red filled his vision. Blood whetted his deepest cravings. The desire to frenzy warred with a lifetime of control.
For once, he let desire win.
And Avocato went Feral.
