17. The Ventrexian – Part 2

Avocato was barely conscious, sprawled amidst rubble. The scent of blood and dust was sharp to his nose. His whole body, his head ached as coldness settled in upon him. He had been exhausted before the battle had started. Now he was broken. If he could just rest . . .

No. No. He couldn't. There was no rest. Not for him. Not so long as the Lord Commander still lived. Alive, the tyrant was a constant threat to Little Cato, and no man who would call himself a father would stop to rest until his child was safe.

Nauseous and faint, he opened his eyes, the dim light of the battle deck sending a sharp stab of pain to his head. His hand was by his face, and though his vision was blurry, he could see blood on his fingers. No surprise there - the surprise came from being in just one piece still. He could feel the sting of multiple lacerations all over his body, and the blunt trauma he'd just received was extensive. There was no part of him that wasn't in pain or uninjured. There were more broken bones, including his pelvis, probably his collar bone and shoulder, definitely his tail. Concussion. Luckily he didn't seem to have been impaled, either on pieces of the wall or his own ribs.

Move, Avocato's mind screamed at him. What could he do at this point but buy the rebellion more time? He'd said it often - the Lord Commander was no soldier, and could be distracted or driven to make impulsive moves. If he could keep the Lord Commander's wrath focused on himself, he could give Cataloupe and Tribore, Roc and Cree'took and Airgon a few more minutes to destroy as much of the Tera Con fleet as possible. Anything for success.

His life would be a cheap price to pay for his prince's security. He had been living on borrowed time for years anyway. It was inevitable that the stress of this situation and the strain on his body would reactivate the akusan poison that lingered in his system, and as soon as that happened, he was dead. There would be no surviving this far removed from his fleet. This was the first time in years Avocato had been isolated or more than five decks away from his small army of medics. He didn't have a chance.

So, since had to die, he would make it count.

Laboriously, Avocato rolled to his side, dislodging rubble and grimacing as he felt bones shift. He could not stop a small gasp of pain from escaping as he pushed himself up. A loud wheezing, hacking cough reached his ears, and he knew the Lord Commander was paying the price for his revenge. He wasn't alone in his pain. If only such an abuse of his powers would end that monster . . .

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By Boobies' estimate, they were almost at the asteroid field when Mooncake recovered his energy levels. His antenna suddenly perked up and he became alert and wriggly all at once. The little blob slipped free of the SAMES' grasp and for a few moments, zoomed alongside him, chirping happily.

"Chookity?"

Boobies did not ponder how this creature's voice carried in a vacuum. Instead, the robot responded to the questioning tone.

"We are en route to join the Polkawitz children on their ship, presently hiding in the asteroid field. Captain Goodspeed wanted you to remain hidden."

Mooncake frowned, pondering this. A few seconds later, a blinding bright light abruptly cast everything into stark contrast for a few seconds as an incinerator exploded. At this distance, it was impossible to tell which side it had been on.

"Choo . . ." he quietly said, then closed his mouth in a hard, determined line."Pok."

"You must not return. If you are captured, this whole battle will be pointless."

"Pok!"

The stubborn blob zoomed off, back towards the battle. Boobies sent a hasty transmission to Boyardee, detailing the situation and their trajectory, and set out after Mooncake. If he could not get his charge to safety, Boobies would do all he could to keep him safe.

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Cataloupe grit his teeth as the Incinerator Urani exploded in a spectacular display of pyrotechnics. Urani had been old and slow, but they could ill afford the loss of a battleship. She had not wasted her last moments, however. Knowing she was doomed, the captain had steered the ship close to three of the Lord Commander's incinerators, heavily damaging them all and taking four escort ships with her into oblivion.

Avocato's plan was to hold the second wave of Hive ships in reserve, in case things got desperate. The loss of another incinerator was sign enough of desperation for Cataloupe.

"Captain t'Koot," he called to the rebellion's second Super Incinerator. "Release the Hive!"

"Target, General?" t'Koot replied.

Ventrexia and Avocato forgive him. "Target the Myn!"

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"Where is E35-1?" rasped the Lord Commander, punctuating the question with hacking coughs and dark drool dripping from his wreck of a mouth.

"I . . . don't . . . know," was Avocato's whispered reply. He did not try to get up again. He didn't have the strength.

"Still lying, General." The Lord Commander reached out, putting his hand on Avocato's forehead and digging his claws into the Ventrexian's head. A sudden pressure struck him as Avocato could not stop him from entering his mind, from seeing -

"THE GARY TOOK E35-1?"

Despite the situation and the agony coursing through him, the overwhelming presence in his brain, Avocato looked at his former emperor in total confusion and disbelief. "The what?"

"The Gary!" spat the Lord Commander. He was furious, positively crazed, and for a brief moment his bulbous, bloodshot yellow eyes flashed magenta with power. A twinge spiked through Avocato's whole being. It felt as if he was being crushed. And burned. And twisted. He could not stop the scream rising from his throat. And all the while, the Lord Commander smiled, reveling in the anguish as he sifted through Avocato's recent thoughts, his fears, his feelings . . .

"Lord Commander!" called Viro. Without waiting for leave to continue, he said, "E35-1 has been spotted!"

"Where?" shrilled the Lord Commander, coughing violently.

"Sir, he's taking part in the battle!"

"Get him! Get him! Get him! Go yourself and bring him back here, you fool!" His voice rose into a shriek that broke off in a choking fit. He spat dark liquid from his mouth, not caring that he splattered Avocato in the process.

"Right away, sir!"

He turned back to his victim writhing beneath his hand. "All for nothing, Avocat - oh, you have got to be kidding me!"

In sheer frustration, he dug his nails in deeper still, gouging Avocato's face and drawing blood before bodily slamming the Ventrexian to the deck so hard he slid a few meters back before coming to a stop. "Not this again! I am so sick of hearing about your love life, Avocato! First Polkawitz and all his uniform fetishes and then the Gary is apparently infatuated with you and now . . . how pathetic can you get? You're in love with the Gary?"

Avocato lay panting, trying to catch his breath as he considered the accusation. Was he? In love with Gary? Yes. Why not? After this day, it wouldn't matter. So, yes, Avocato admitted to himself, enjoying the little glimmer of pleasure the confession brought, he was in love with Captain Gary Goodspeed.

The Lord Commander eyed him slyly, stepping closer so he could loom and taunt and watch his enemy suffer as Avocato struggle to roll to his side. "You sent your beloved prince into battle, eh? I was hoping he was on the bridge with you when I destroyed it. No matter. My ships will just have to wipe out - what was it? Alpha Flight? And . . . " He froze, realizing as he seemingly sorted through the information he'd gleaned from Avocato's mind. His watery eyes bulged and he stared in a state of shock that morphed to cackling, wheezing pleasure. "Ahhh. It worked? My assassins reached you after all? Two years of akusan poisoning? I never thought you could give me another moment of happiness, General. Knowing you've been fighting for your life every second of the last two years makes all this worthwhile. Hmm. I suppose it's time I finished the Mirror Mage's job for him, eh?"

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With his best stealth mode engaged, Gary Goodspeed slipped back down the service hall to the rear entrance of the battle deck. He was more than a little freaked out to be coming back, but if Tribore was right and the Lord Commode did have Avocato, Gary was getting him back and getting him out. The whole 'saving the rebellion' thing aside, whisking Avocato from the Lord Commander's clutches would be a stinkin' amazing addition to his romantic resume. No way Avocato could say no to a date after that.

Somehow, there was a haze of dust settling out of the air on the battle deck. Trying to be as small as possible, Gary crouched low and peered into the stupid big room. Abruptly he realized a chunk of the wall that angled into the room and framed the throne was demolished, reduced to rubble. And then he saw movement, and he realized that wasn't just rubble, it was -

"Avocato," Gary breathed in horror. The Lord Commander had put him through a wall? And he wasn't dead? What the hell were Ventrexians made out of that Avocato would survive being used as a wrecking ball? The general looked a mess - bloody and beaten and at the end of his strength. As Gary watched, the oozing lump of flesh that was the Lord Commander shuffled over and lashed out with his small foot, easily kicking Avocato's supporting arm from beneath Avocato and sending the general crashing down again. A sound of pain escaped Avocato and it took everything Gary had not to rush in and get them both killed.

"I understand akusan is very painful," Gary heard the Lord Commander boast. He paused, wracked by wet-sounding coughs and wheezing, before adding, "That's part of the reason why I chose it."

Gary froze. How the hell had that little cretin figured out his assassination attempt had almost worked? Didn't matter. If the Lord Commander somehow activated that poison, Avocato was a goner. If they both weren't goners already.

The oozy imp gestured as if he was seizing the general's throat, and suddenly Avocato was suspended in the air, helpless to free himself of the invisible grip cutting off his air.

"Let's play. I'll go first."

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"Hey, I recognize that ship!" exclaimed Colonel Cato as a heavily armed bomber launched from the Myn. "That's Viro's ship!"

"General Viro?" Commander Thunder clarified. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, heck yeah!" His indignation was complete. "I was stuck on that scow for days with that son of a slug! That's it! He's mine!"

"Colonel Cato," came Cataloupe's warning call. "Do not break formation or abandon your flight wing!"

"I'm not!" insisted Little Cato, sounding his age. "They're coming with, General! Alpha Flight! Form up on me! Let's go! Beta Flight, we'll be back in a sec!"

On the Sabertooth, Cataloupe sighed, shaking his head and praying for patience as he muttered, "Your father taught you too well."

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Avocato could feel it.

Ventrexia help him, but he not only recognized, but at this point he was actually used to the sensation of akusan flower pollen reactivating in his system. He'd dealt with it for so long and so many times that it was familiar. He wasn't sure if it was the Lord Commander that caused it, or the prolonged strain of the fleet action, but he knew instantly by the wave of cold through his system that a reaction was starting. A bad one. His whole body became rigid, no longer under his control as he became incapable of something so instinctive and automatic as breathing. It was no longer the Lord Commander's power that held him, but the akusan.

Avocato struggled to draw a breath, the sudden lack sending an instinctive wave of panic to his body and mind. Tiny, shallow gasps were the best he could manage and soon he'd hyperventilate. If he lived that long. Tremors coursed down his limbs, bringing waves of of tingling, burning pain. He gnashed his teeth, his back arching and his head snapping back as a seizure overwhelmed all of his self-control. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Everything was pain and and crushing pressure and suffocation . . .

"What a beautiful sight," gloated the Lord Commander, smiling at the sight of his former general being slowly destroyed. Avocato could barely hear him over the roaring in his ears. "I wish all the Rebellion could see this with me. And where's your precious the Gary now?"

"Right here, asshole!"

And aiming his blaster, Gary Goodspeed shot the Lord Commander at point-blank range.