It didn't take long to bring 'Pop' back to Blue Base, and he whistled as he took in the sheer size and scope of the residence. "How did you afford all of this?" he asked in wonder. "My whole house could fit in your foyer!"
"...afford?" Caboose asked in confusion.
'Pop' stared at him for a time, then turned to Papi. "Do you know who handles his money?" he asked hopefully.
Papi and Paya both titled their heads adorably. "Mo...knee?"
'Pop' sighed ruefully. "Yeah, I should have seen that coming…"
"Most of this is funded by the government, via the Interspecies Exchange Program," Rachnera explained as she entered the room, followed by the other girls. "So to answer your question, Agent Smith."
"Really?" Pop asked in surprise. "How is the government paying for all this?"
"Oh, most of it the Freckles built!" Miia pointed out, indicating her own unit. "So all that really cost money was the land."
"What, did they just make the materials appear out of thin air as they built?" Pop demanded incredulously.
[Affirmative.]
Pop turned to stare at Caboose's Freckle. Deciding to not think about that for the moment, he turned his attention to the sheer number of extraspecies girls that were in the room now. "You're hosting quite a few girls," he said to Caboose, trying to focus attention on things relevant to his interests...Papi specifically.
"Yes!" Caboose declared happily. "They are all my marriage friends, and once all the papers are okayed we're all going to marriage and be happy together forever and raise Suu!" He pulled Suu into his lap to cuddle. "She's our baby!"
"Papa!" Suu declared happily, snuggling into the embrace, the bell on her collar jingling.
Noticing that collar, Pop turned and saw everyone - Papi included - was wearing one. "And...the collars?"
"Honey startles realy easily," Rachnera explained, having been briefed on the protocol when she had gotten her collar. "He's also ungodly - or perhaps godly, the theories differ - strong, and tends to react like a soldier. The bells are so he's never startled by us sneaking up on him."
"That and Darling finds them adorable," Miia added happily.
Pop nodded, deciding to reserve his judgement on that. After all, a much more important matter had raised in his mind. "You said you intend to marry...all these girls?" he coached Caboose. "My daughter included?"
"Yes!" Caboose confirmed happily. "But Papi needs your blessing and Paya's."
"And why should I give it?" Pop asked carefully. "I can see you're well matched and she cares deeply for you...but all these girls? How do I know you won't neglect my baby girl with so much...distraction around you? There's…" He made a quick head count. "Ten other girls here you've named as your future wives-"
"And Kuku!" Caboose pointed out helpfully. "She's busy doing Agent stuff, so she couldn't be here today."
"And...your Interspecies Exchange Coordinator, apparently," Pop mused worriedly. I guess that explains how this all came to pass. "So how do I know you'll always have time for Papi so she'll never feel neglected?"
"I will always have time for all my girls!" Caboose promised fervently. "Even if I have to ask Santa for alien tech so I can make it!"
Pop blinked a few times, then turned to the others in hopes of an explanation.
"Sire appears to have access to alien tech, and some tech from the Freelancer program," Mero explained, having reviewed Caboose's official records in hopes of getting some answers regarding his nature and abilities. They had not been very forthcoming in that regard. "He...intends to make use of technology that allows one to step backwards in time a small amount and function alongside your past self...somehow...in order to have time to tend to all of us, if necessary."
"So...he meant 'make time' literally?" Pop clarified.
"That is the case," Mero allowed.
"And...is he aware of the strain that could put on him?" Pop asked carefully. "I won't ask about paradoxes or anything else on the science side, since all I've heard about alien tech and how it works at that level says we don't know enough to even guess at why it works the way it does...but that can't be healthy to do for long periods of time."
"Love doesn't seem to have a limit to his energy or stamina," Polt pointed out thoughtfully. "And...he's always managed to find a solution to things, even if logic said such solution shouldn't work."
"Like when he walked across a lake to retrieve Miia, and justified it by an old joke because he knew the stones were all on the bottom?" Tio suggested happily.
Pop blinked several times. He'd never really been very religious, but his parents had been. Hearing that Caboose could walk on water really sent his sense of the world for a loop. "Well, as long as I have your promise that you'll always take care of my baby-"
"I promise on Tucker's love life!" Caboose swore fervently.
Pop sighed. "I...guess I can't really object." He looked around for the paperwork. "At least you won't get lonely while Papi's flying around…"
Caboose stared at him for a time. "I'll be right back!" he said as he rushed out to the machine shed, his Freckle unit following him.
Pop blinked in surprise. "What's he up to?" he asked Polt, as she seemed to have her head on the straightest of the lot.
"Probably something that breaks physics, but is exactly what you need," Polt allowed ruefully.
As Pop signed the paperwork - and showed Paya where to sign - Caboose came rushing back in with an oddly configured jetpack. "Here you go!" he declared happily. "Now you can fly with Paya!"
Pop took the jetpack in surprise. "Really? But...how will I fuel it?"
"It runs on love and rainbows!" Caboose declared happily.
Pop blinked. "No, seriously, how do I-"
[The unit collects the pheremones released by humans experiencing the emotions of love, those being gentle affection fervent dedication, and ardor,] Freckle explained. [These chemicals, when exposed to refracted sunlight, catalyze into a high-energy, clean fuel that can keep the jetpack aloft for several hours on two gallons.]
Pop stared at the jetpack in his hands. "Oh. So he wasn't being facetious…"