Chapter 38: Confirmation Protocol Delta

"AVA, where's my father?"

"Which one?"

Little Cato made a face, as if the answer should be obvious. "The Ventrexian one. Gary is my dad. Avocato is my father."

"Semantics," she shot right back playfully. "Your father is in the galley. Your dad is in seat next to him."

A wide grin split his face. That the two people most important to him were getting along so well – possibly, maybe, probably falling stupid in love in the process – meant everything to Little Cato. He bounded along the corridor to the kitchen area, exclaiming, "Dad! Dad!" as the door opened.

Ventrexian and human alike looked up, wearing twin expressions of welcome and curiosity.

"Spider Cat! Just in time for coffee. Not that you need it." As he spoke, Gary rose, pointing to the game of solitaire spread out before Avocato. "Black six on the red seven, then flip over the face-down card." He caught Little Cato in a headlock, planting a quick kiss atop his head before pouring some coffee for himself and Avocato and milk for his son. He took a moment to savor a long mouthful of steaming coffee, then asked, "S'up, Junior?"

Little Cato smiled at the reference to his real name. "The new lightfold coil is being delivered in a little while, so Nightfall told me to make myself scarce and make sure you two stay out of the line of sight."

"I got coffee, Catos, and cookies," said Gary with an answering grin. He grabbed a container of small tarts - the closest thing the market had to offer to actual cookies - and settled back in his seat. "I'd be a fool to leave."

With a laugh, Little Cato addressed his sire. "Dad, Fox said that earlier they picked up a recorded transmission from Uncle Nikos. Looks like he brought a whole lot of ships to come get you."

Avocato's expression never changed, which was telling in itself. Much as he needed to get back, wanted to get back to his son, he did not want to leave them. That he had found love and family here was as wonderful as it was daunting. The desire to stay was an unexpected development for him, but before all else, he was a soldier, and he would do his duty.

Much as he didn't want to.

He came back to the here-and-now when Gary reached over and laid his hand on Avocato's shoulder, quietly asking, "Cato? You in there?"

Avocato blinked, realizing he had given them cause for concern, and gave himself a little shake to jar himself out of his reverie. Drawing a deep breath, he managed a faint smile. "I'm here. Nikos can wait a little longer. Walk me through the rest of this game."

Little Cato plopped into the chair opposite them to watch and help coach and snag a cookie. "I put the Regru sword in your room."

"It's a nice one," said Avocato. He glanced at Gary to make sure he was moving the cards about correctly. "It'll look good in my office."

"You'll want this, too," Little Cato added, casually pulling the curved knife from his belt and setting it on the table. It looked very large in his hands.

"You let our kid play with knives?" teased Gary.

"I encourage it. Blasters, too," was the unrepentant reply. Avocato picked up the knife, finally able to look at it in decent lighting. It was a formidable piece, broad-bladed and keen. "This and the Regru were probably the only decent weapons that sorry lot had."

"And you took them both," Gary said with pride.

"They weren't using them," Avocato replied, shifting to slide the knife into his boot.

"And I know for a fact, you're going to want that stabber," returned Gary.

A tiny snort of amusement escaped the ginger Ventrexian and he fixed Avocato with a steady gaze. Clearly he was eager to share what was on his mind, so both fathers gave him their full attention.

"Y'know, I remembered something you said to me that makes sense now," he began, fighting a silly smile. "Back when I was . . . I dunno, seven or eight. I was really lonely, and I ask you if you were ever going to get married again."

Sensing where this was heading, Avocato sat back with a small smile. "So what did I say?"

"You looked at me and said, 'That's a really good idea. Some day I'll take you up on it.'"

Avocato gestured expansively. "And I kept my word."

They all laughed together. Gary leaned against Avocato as the general continued, "It's certainly not what I expected, but . . . I'm incredibly glad to have it."

"Same," said Little Cato.

"Hell yeah." Gary saluted with his coffee, and the Catos raised their drinks in that universal salute.

"Nightfall says it should take a few days to install and calibrate the coil," Little Cato said in the lull that followed. "She said she'd only seen it done back when she was in the Infinity Guard, and she wanted to be sure she got it right."

"If she doesn't mind waiting a day, I can have some engineers install and calibrate it in just a few hours," promised Avocato.

"You'd do that?" asked Gary, surprised. "I mean, you can do that?"

"Gary, this ship and crew saved my life. It's the least I can do."

"I keep forgetting you've got people. That's a great idea, Cato. It should save a lot of headaches."

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"Absolutely not."

Gary blinked at Nightfall's point blank refusal.

"Gary, these are the Lord Commander's people. Have you forgotten that?"

"Well, so is Avocato and he won't betray us. We're ten years in the past. They have no idea of who we are or who we're going to be. They have no way of knowing who we are outside of what Avocato tells them. And he doesn't have to tell them anything."

At mention of the general's name, Nightfall glowered, and Gary got an inkling of what this was about. He knew her temperament and was intelligent and polite enough to ignore her tendency towards jealousy. He'd seen her around Avocato, and he knew she regarded the Ventrexian as competition even though she knew she and Gary would never be a thing.

"Are you saying no just because it was his suggestion?"

Her expression said all, but rather than examine her reaction, Nightfall countered with her own question.

"You don't think I can install the coil?"

"I know you can. The point is, you don't have to. He's got armies of engineers. Let them do their thing and you can supervise."

She glared, but not at him. "I'll think about it."

It was as much as he could ask at the moment. "Okay."

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"You ready?"

The very picture of calm, Avocato said, "Always."

Gary chuckled. "Here goes." He reached for the communicator and hit a button. "Vulpen Keo, this is Captain Goodspeed of the Crimson Light requesting a secure channel with Colonel-in-Command Nikos. Please respond."

As they waited, it struck Gary that this was it. He was going to lose Avocato again. How many times had they been parted? Too many. At least this time, he'd get a chance to say goodbye. From where he sat he looked up at the teal Ventrexian standing tall beside him with his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes focused forward. How could Avocato keep so composed?

"Cato?" Gary heard himself ask.

Patient yellow eyes regarded him. "Yes?"

"I miss you already."

He knew it almost sounded like whining, but he didn't care. There was a pause, and then Avocato closed his eyes, bowing his head as he nodded in silent agreement. He had a ten-year vigil before him, before he would be reunited, however briefly, with his family. Drawing a deep breath, he said, "Things will work out."

"Let's hope."

Avocato frowned slightly. "We know so, Gary."

"Huh?"

"Remember what Bodek said: even in his time, you and I are a force to be reckoned with. He called us . . . 'the universe's ultimate power couple.' What does that even mean?"

"It means I married a badass." Gary sat back, a smile plastered on his face. Odd that he should be so inordinately comforted by an assassin's word, but now that he remembered the comments out of Bodek, he felt his spirits lift. "You think that'll happen?"

Avocato looked at him with undisguised affection. "Yes. We'll find a way to make it happen."

"Crimson Light, this is Vulpen Keo," said a high-pitched voice over the comms. "Stand by for Colonel-in-Command Nikos."

"Yeah," agreed Gary, fpromising himself as much as Avocato. "Bet on it."

"Captain Goodspeed, this is Colonel-in-Command Nikos of House Cordon of Bharata. Thank you for contacting us. Is your guest present? Can he hear me?"

"Colonel, this is Captain Goodspeed. The answers to your questions are yes and yes."

"In that case, General, initiating confirmation protocol delta," Nikos said crisply. His voice was not as deep as Avocato's, but he hit more notes as he spoke, giving him a lilting accent.

"Proceed with confirmation," ordered Avocato, the cold facade firmly back in place. "Identify General Avocato of House Cato, supreme military commander and second-in-command of the Tera Con Empire."

The interrogation began, a quick back-and-forth between two friends going through the motions.

"Voice print confirmed. List parents."

"Grand Lord Catomar VI of House Cato and Imperial Princess MewMew of Hiis."

"Progeny?"

"Avocato II of House Cato, also legally recognized as Little Cato."

"List the last six ships you commanded."

"Kalibar, Moto Jinn, Shaginaw, Silverwing, Talon."

"That's five."

"I've only commanded five."

"Chief engineer of the Silverwing."

"Lt. Commander Pawlette."

"Who graduated immediately behind me from our academy class?"

"Lord Kitner of House Kitet. Your performance during the jungle survival drill gained you the recognition needed to pull ahead of him in the ranking."

"What did I do?"

"Saved two cadets not on your team from drowning in the Bishto River."

There was a definite hint of amusement in Nikos' voice now. "What color are my wife's eyes?"

"That question is grammatically incorrect, Colonel. You should ask what colors are your wife's eyes. Cordell is an odd-eyed bianca. Her left eye is blue, right is yellow."

"What did you call the croyrats aboard the Catchpaw barge?"

"Free pets," Avocato said with a definite edge of amusement in his voice. "What did Kedi call them?"

"Dinner," chuckled Nikos. "Identity confirmed. I'm very glad to have you back, General."

Only now did the comm unit activate a hologram, and Gary got his first look at Nikos. The colonel had a black face, ears, and hands against creamy fur and very large, pale blue eyes and delicate features. Gary blinked, because had the colonel been a cat, he would have described Nikos as a Siamese. His uniform was similar to Avocato's, though slightly more ornate with braids looped around one shoulder marking him as an aide-de-camp. He gave Avocato a short, respectful bow.

"The entire system has been blockaded under General Rig," Nikos told him. "No ships can enter or leave. I'm bringing a detachment of fifteen Incinerators and their escorts to Zee Secundus. We'll arrive at Geegua Spaceport at noon tomorrow local time. Do you want to meet at Geegua, or outside the spaceport?"

"Send my compliments to General Rig and have him hold his position. I want you to put three Incinerators directly above the spaceport and use the rest of the detachment to blockade the planet. I have some business with the local government before we leave. I'll need my usual honor guard, plus an officer and six guards to take charge of a prisoner. Have our best interrogators ready to receive the prisoner. Also, send down a team of engineers to replace the coil in the Crimson Light's lightfold engine."

Gary kept his grimace to himself. Avocato didn't know about Nightfall's reluctance to accept his help, but maybe the best way to get Nightfall to agree would be to swamp her with gung-ho engineers.

"I'll take care of everything, General. Is there anything else you need before we close?"

Avocato sighed, glancing down at the coat that had gone through hell with him and saved his life time and again. "A new uniform."