5. The Set Up

The door chimed a second before it opened, yanking Gary out of dreams of cuddling with a teal blue furry fantasy dad guy.

"Wake up! You're wanted."

With a series of nonsensical mumblings and groans, Gary dragged himself upright and fumbled for his clothes. In a few minutes he was dressed and rubbing his eyes as he followed an-almost-human-looking soldier to parts unknown. As was usual for Gary, every part of this super Incinerator looked like every other part. He did notice the halls were pretty empty, meaning it either very late or very early, depending on the point of view.

"In here."

The soldier opened a door and Gary walked into a control room lit only by instrument panels. People were talking in quiet murmurs as they went about the business of running a battleship the size of a city and a rebellion involving half the universe. The entire far wall of the room was a screen behind a hand rail to keep people at a distance, presently projecting a navigational star chart. Gary didn't recognize the systems, but he did recognize the tall, slim Ventrexian standing before it with several of his officers. Those ears and that tail were unmistakable, and he found himself smiling a bit just because.

"Captain Goodspeed. Thank you for coming at this hour," said Avocato, as if Gary had been given a choice. Still, his tone invited Gary to come closer, and he wasn't one to refuse an invitation. "I have some news I think will make you very happy."

"Oh? What's up?"

Avocato leaned a hand on the rail and gestured at the chart. "You friend, E35-1. Mooncake, was it? Has been spotted at Belitruse VI."

"Wait - seriously? Mooncake? You found him?" Gary was instantly awake, his heart racing with excitement. "Holy spit! That's fantastic. Can we go get him?"

"We can't," Avocato replied. "Belitruse is too close to Tera Con Prime to risk any of our ships right now. However, you can."

"I can? I mean, I can! How can I get there?"

"We have a contact," began Avocato warily, producing eye rolls and sounds of disgust from the hovering officers. Clearly there was no love lost here. "He's about as trustworthy as the Lord Commander, but he's got survival instincts like no one I've met and he does owe me. He's willing to get you to Belitruse and then bring you and . . . Mooncake to a rendezvous to get you back here."

He didn't hesitate. "I'm in, General. Who's this contact?"

Avocato nodded, and from an adjoining room a small, bald, gray being walked in, coming to stand a little too close to Avocato for anyone's liking, including Avocato. The general looked down at the little man, his expression gone cool and his poise unruffled. Avocato was not about to cede a millimeter of territory. Baldy wore heavy goggles over his squinty eyes and he moved with quite, furtive gestures. His hands reminded Gary of a spider's legs, with fingers ready to pick a pocket or choke the life out of some unsuspecting woodland animal. Gary hated him instantly, and was immensely grateful when one of the lieutenants inserted himself between the short gray zit and the general to relay an unnecessary update, the long spikes down the lieutenant's back forcing the newcomer to back out of the way.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," said Avocato smoothly, then turned to Gary. "Captain, this is Clarence Polkawitz of the Crimson Light. Clarence, Captain Goodspeed."

"You didn't say he was a primey," complained Clarence, looking Gary up and down like he was wares for sale.

"Because that has nothing to do with the task at hand, Clarence," snapped Avocato. "Just get him to Belitruse VI to find his friend, then bring them both to the rendezvous at Castina. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I'll do it," agreed Clarence, looking for all the world like a four-foot mole in glasses. "But this is the last time, Avocato."

"Agreed," said Avocato, and Gary knew Avocato was grateful he wouldn't have to deal with the slime ball again. "Get your ship ready. Captain Goodspeed will meet you in the docking bay after I've briefed him. Captain?"

Drawing Gary aside, Avocato gripped the railing with both hands, leaning heavily against it as he softly said, "Do not trust him. If I had any other means of getting you there, I'd take it, but right now I don't."

Gary felt a surge of warmth to know the Ventrexian cared. He mirrored Avocato's stance and used it as an excuse to get close.

"You think he'll pull something?"

Avocato winced as a twinge of pain gripped him. A few moments passed before he answered tightly, "If he doesn't, it will be a first." He swallowed, wincing again.

Gary realized that despite the long Tera Con uniform coat he wore, Avocato was shivering cold. The bridge wasn't as warm as the dining room, telling Gary that not all the officers present were aware of Avocato's condition. Gary had to grip the rail with both hands to keep from reaching out to the general, knowing this was not the time or place for sympathy.

After a few breaths, Avocato continued. "Don't waste any time. Don't let Clarence waste any time. He's shrewd, so don't give him anything to work with about yourself or the mission if you can help it. Get Mooncake, and get back. If we got the report, the Lord Commander did, too, and he's desperate. He's moving almost all of what's left of his fleet toward the Belitruse system. I don't know what he needs E35-1 for, but I recognize all the signs of the Lord Commander on a rampage, so please, be careful. If nothing else, I want to deny him another resource and weaken him a little more."

Gary's knees went a little weak to hear that Avocato was anxious. About him. His safety and safe return. That was huge. That was romantic. Gary wanted to jump about and fist pump and shout out his pleasure, but he restrained his reaction. Having to explain a victory dance probably wouldn't go over too well with the bridge crew.

The general's expression grew distant. "The Lord Commander is powerful and ruthless. He tends to bend situations to his advantage, but he's no soldier. He can be goaded into making mistakes. Viro was a mercenary whose idea of a long game doesn't stretch for more than a few weeks. Both are impatient. That's a failing I can exploit." He let out a small grunt of satisfaction, then drew a deep breath, coming back to the here-and-now. "That I will exploit. My chief engineer will meet you in the docking bay with a blaster. He's going to unlock the controls for your robotic arm. It might be useful."

"Wait - it's not just a cool hand?"

Avocato let out a small laugh. "No. Here." Pushing up his sleeve, Avocato took a comm unit off his wrist and held it out. "Don't let them see this. Only use it to call if things go completely off the rails. I have assured my commanders you're capable of controlling E35-1. I called it a planet killer and it is, but they're hoping - I'm hoping - with your help, it can be an ally. I'm putting a lot of faith in you. Don't make a liar out of me."

"Never." Gary transferred the communicator to his own wrist. It was warm from its previous owner, and he found that ridiculously satisfying. "I promise you, Avocato, you're going to love Mooncake. And he's going to love you and Little Cato - Oh!" Instinctively, he put his hand on Avocato's arm. "Little Cato!"

"I'll say your goodbyes," assured Avocato, straightening. He gave him a hint of a smile, adding, "Return safely, Gary."

A slow, happy grin spread across Gary's face as Avocato used his name for the first time. "Take care of yourself, Avocato. See you soon."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Yeeee-up. Gary had called it. He hated Clarence. Twenty-three seconds in, and he wanted to shoot the little asshole extra, extra dead with dressing on the side.

He was a tiny perv with short man syndrome, who had negative opinions about literally everything, from primates to the price of something called bunkidos to the possibility that the solar winds of Belitruse's suns would fade the ship's hull, and seemed to think Gary gave a damn about what he thought. For once, his time in the monstertorium was proving useful since Gary could tune that annoying voice out entirely. He put up with it, mostly because he just wanted to get Mooncake and get the freak back. If listening to Clarence bitch was the price he had to pay, Gary would pay it.

He drew the line, however, when Clarence started talking about Avocato. There was definitely something there, some sort of frustrated erotic undertone that was disturbing to say the least. It was nothing like the starry-eyed crush Gary harbored. It was nasty, a glimpse into Clarence's fantasies that left Gary queasy, especially when he considered how extraordinarily engaging and charming Avocato had been. Standing, Gary leaned in towards the little gray horror, saying,

"Pal, say what you like about the universe at large, but leave Avocato out of it. I owe that man my life."

Unused to being challenged, Clarence whirled on Gary, took in his expression and rolled his eyes in disgust. "Oh, don't tell me you've fallen in love with the general, you simp."

He glared to hide his panic. Crap, was he that obvious, or was this just Clarence taking a shot in the dark? Either way, he needed to shut it down fast because Clarence was the sort of snakerat to tell Avocato and make a good thing awkward.

"Ventrexians are cultural elitists who look down on every other race in existence," sneered Clarence. He poked a bony finger at Gary. "Primies especially. Avocato is the worst of a bad lot. You don't stand a chance, especially since he's raising the crown prince of the whole planet."

"Whatever," he answered, thinking that didn't sound like the Avocato he knew. And the glint in his eye when he referenced Little Cato was the final straw. "He's a friend. Something you clearly know nothing about. I won't listen to my friends be smeared, especially by the likes of you. I'm going to go eat."

"I didn't agree to feed you!" shouted Clarence as Gary stalked off the bridge. Yeah, this trip couldn't get over with soon enough. Ignoring his host, Gary passed Clarence's adopted daughter, Ash, and nodded a greeting to her. She was cute and weird in a bubblegum gothic/Addams Family sort of way, though Gary was a little disturbed that the first thing she asked upon meeting him was if he should die on this trip, if she could have his spleen. Clarence's other child was a Tryvuulian, Fox, who was nice enough but weirdly obsessed with zones, being in the zone, and keeping people out of his zones. It wasn't helpful that zones apparently moved with him, so Gary just gave him a wide berth. The kids weren't bad, really, but their father was a nightmare. He could relate, seeing as how his own mom came straight out of hell.

Finding something that looked edible, he flopped into a chair in the ship's small galley and considered his hand. The chief engineer, who'd been the one to design and install Gary's arm alongside the surgeon, had informed him the design was based on the multipurpose hands most maintenance robots were equipped with, and therefore could be converted to a number of tools and weapons.

"It'll take some focus on your part to get the controls down, but once you get used to them, it'll be pretty easy," it'd said, handing him a gun belt with a blaster. "The general wants you to know the trip to Belitruse should take a solar day there, no more, and slightly less than that back to the rendezvous."

He'd had to fight to keep the grin off his face at the notion that Avocato not only wanted him back, but was worried for him. That was going to buoy him along and give him plenty of pleasantly sleepless nights once he got back to the rebel fleet. In the meantime, he had this cool robotic hand to figure out.

"You may want to try envisioning the end results versus trying to tell it what to do," suggested a feminine voice after an hour of fruitless figuring.

Gary looked up. "Hello?"

"AVA. Ship's AI. That's some pretty slick tech you got there, flyboy."

He chuckled, liking her sass. "Didn't come with an owner's manual, unfortunately."

"Try a flashlight. They're pretty standard."

He tried it, imagining his arm terminating in a flashlight like he'd seen on the SAMES aboard the Galaxy 1. Moments later, it felt as if he'd flexed his arm and suddenly his hand reconfigured in a quick, smooth motion and instead of fingers, he now had a light. Gary gaped in delight, pointing it here and there, strobing and pinpointing it at random.

"Oh my crap! AVA! Look! It worked! How cool is that?"

"Not bad, hotshot. How about a multi-tool?"

One flashlight, multi-tool, soldering iron, laser cutter, data display, hand cannon, and vibro-blade later, Gary was convinced he'd been given the coolest gift ever.