37. The Hard Way

The new uniform was stiff, but at least his boots were comfortable as he braced for the onslaught of first-year recruits. According to Purrina, who was now one of the five cadets in charge of this dorm, the incoming class was exceptionally large, over six hundred students. Normally the command and administrative track cadets who were able to travel early would be assigned to help usher the new cadets around the campus and make sure they got to where they were supposed to be for the first three days. With so many cadets, however, everyone already present at the academy had been pressed into service.

It had been a busy day, one full of memories and reflection for Avocato, not to mention a lot of annoying – and often stupid – questions from the new recruits. He could not recall being that idiotic or that wide-eyed when he started. Back in his first year, he'd been too focused on his own woes of learning to make a bed and keep all his books and pads straight to notice the rest of the student body hadn't arrived until the start of the second week. Until his own third-year classes began, Avocato was expected to help the teachers and staff and dorm monitors. Such were the joys of living relatively close to Ventrex City. He had arrived yesterday with all his supplies, along with everything Nikos and Kedi had stored at the Cato estate. Nikos would arrive before the end of the week, Kedi was due in on the weekend. Though it had only been a month, Avocato was very much looking forward to seeing them again.

Purrina, in his fifth year now and well on his way to being a fine officer, wore a knowing smirk when he told Avocato to direct the cadets to their assigned dorm rooms, and then help the monitors inspect the rooms while the cadets were at dinner.

"I don't need to tell you what to do," Purrina informed him.

"No, sir."

"Or what not to do," he added under his breath.

Avocato fought back a smile. "Yes, sir."

"All humor aside, Avocato, we have some children of high-ranking noble houses starting today. Your presence in this dorm is part of the reason we're getting more than our fair share. It seems you've set a very good example, and the commodore has hopes you'll infect the others."

"I'll do my best, sir. May I ask how highly ranking?"

Purrina, who was barely of noble birth and made no point of it, especially when faced by a cadet who was half a step away from royalty, braced himself before saying, "If I heard aright, the crown prince's youngest brother-in-law."

Avocato was hard-pressed not to groan. "Apritom."

"You know him."

"An unavoidable state for me, sir. He is . . . "

Obnoxious. A beast. A brat. An attention-seeking snot with no redeeming qualities. The worst sort of noble and the worst sort of teenager. The sixth child of an unremarkable high lord whose best contribution to society had been his first heir, the present Princess Apricot. Apritom had been the baby of the family in every sense of the word until his mother, late in life, had given birth to another daughter. Apritom, already largely ignored, was shuffled even further aside to make way for the longed-for daughter, for House Apri was one of the few matriarchal houses on Ventrexia. Sons only inherited the title if there were no daughters, and with Apricot married into the royal family, there had been something of a crisis in House Apri for a number of years.

Avocato counted himself fortunate he was not related to House Apri in any way. The house was too young and too far down in the social hierarchy to be mingled with the imperial lines. How they had produced a child as gracious and accomplished as Apricot was a mystery to all the old families. Not even Princess MewMew could find a kind word for them that wasn't centered on the crown prince's wife, and his mother could have found something kind to say about the Tryvuulian high command.

"Here to learn to be an officer," Purrina finished diplomatically. "It's on him if he learns the easy way or the hard way." He held out a padd, a knowing smirk on his face. "Understood?"

Avocato took the offered device, allowing a small grin of his own. "Understood, sir."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Name?"

"Cadet Byrd, sir."

"Fifth floor, room twenty-eight. Take the door to your right. Name?"

"You're a Blue Imperial!"

He could appreciate now why Purrina had been bored and snappish that first day. Avocato had opted to stand rather than sit to give out room assignments. He felt his height would make him more visible, but he found it even more useful in making himself intimidating. Raising his eyes slowly, he glared down at wide-eyed girl gawking at him.

"That's your name?" he demanded dryly.

"You are, aren't you? That's remarkable!" she yammered, absolutely not reading her audience. Behind her, tired, anxious students who did not care about what she cared about and only wanted to get to their rooms, stretched in a line out the door. She looked Avocato up and down as if he was on display in a museum. "That color coat only appears in the Imperial line and in all of history, there have only been three male-"

"Cadet," he interrupted, his voice absolutely flat, "put your kit on that table."

She hastily obeyed, dumping her books and pads and bags onto a nearby table. Too eager to realize she was in trouble, she was positively excited.

"Drop and give me thirty push-ups right now."

"W-what?"

He cranked up the intensity of the glare. "Are you asking me to repeat myself, cadet? Because the number will double if I do."

"I . . . I . . ."

Glare.

Completely flustered, she got down on the carpet and, with terrible form, began push-ups.

"Count out loud," Avocato ordered. He raised his voice over her slow, labored efforts. "Cadets! I will be asking you one simple question you all know the answer to. Do not waste your time, and more importantly, mine. If you do not choose to answer that question, you can join Cadet Youreablueimperial here on the floor. Name?"

"Cadet Tato, sir!" squeaked the terrified cadet who was next in line.

"Second floor, room thirty-seven. That door. Name?"

Tato ran. A few more cadets behind him got their rooms assignments. Knowing she was exhausted, Avocato let the girl on the floor finish push-up sixteen before snapping, "Get up. Get your things."

She scrambled to her feet, almost in tears. She stacked the books and padds, shouldered her bags, and was walking back when a booted foot slid just out of the line of cadets and tripped her. The girl stumbled to her knees, dropping her books to catch herself. A few cadets tittered as someone sarcastically crooned 'Clumsy!' but most looked horrified. The girl, embarrassed and now humiliated and possibly hurt, squeezed her eyes shut, trying desperately hard not to cry.

Righteous fury filled Avocato as he stalked forward. Memories of his own experiences and everything Nikos had endured over the past two years came to the fore as he offered her a hand.

"On your feet. Are you injured?" he asked.

"No, sir," she whispered, looking down.

"Wait right there," he ordered, gesturing to the side. He took another step to the spot where she had been tripped and turned to face the line. Four grins were hastily wiped off the faces of the little cluster of cadets. Avocato recognized their ringleader instantly. Of course it was Apritom. The little shit. This was exactly the sort of thing he would do. Small and petty and mean. At home or school, he'd probably get away with nothing more than a faint reprimand. Goddess above, he made Kitner seem pleasant by comparison.

He pointed. "You and you, step out of the line and set your things on that table. You," he pointed to Apritom, "Put your things down right here."

"On the floor?" demanded Apritom, scandalized.

"Are you questioning a direct order?"

For a moment, he hoped Apritom would argue, but with a little huff, the young lord obeyed.

"Now pick up this cadet's property. Carefully! What, don't you know how to pick up a padd without damaging it? Stack them neatly. Neater than that, cadet! This is the royal academy, not a playground. She had the books stacked by size. Do it right. Give them to your friend here. Get her bags. Hand them off." He looked to the female cadet, who was still upset but somewhat recovered. "Name?"

She swallowed, then choked out, "C-Cadet Mentine. Sir."

Mentine. She must be Menti's sister or cousin. He had mentioned a relation coming to the academy. Avocato made a mental note to tell Menti to keep an eye on her and Apritom's little clique. Punishing her for her misconduct was one thing, but bullying was something entirely different.

"Fourth floor, room twenty-three. Hold on." He scrolled through the information, then bellowed, "Cadet Ibibi, front and center!"

There was a slight delay, a few calls down the line, and then a disheveled girl came jogging up, struggling to cling to her books and bags. She clattered to a halt and tried to come to attention without dropping any of her things in the process. Definitely engineering material.

"Sir?" she squeaked.

"Give all your things to this cadet." He pointed to the other waiting recruit. "Bags, too. This is your roommate, and these cadets have volunteered to carry your property. They are not to talk to you or each other, and if they do anything other than carry your things to your room, Cadet Ibibi is to return immediately and tell me." He glared at the two cadets carrying the girls' things. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," they chorused.

"That door. Hurry up."

The energy of the line of cadets shifted, and he could sense the unspoken delight they were experiencing at seeing a passel of entitled brats get publicly served. He looked back to Apritom and the other smarmy beast beside him. "Pick up your things, cadet. Quickly! You and you, end of the line. If anyone falls in behind you, you are to allow them ahead of you. If you aren't the last ones to check in, you'll be on report. Move!"

Apritom looked positively incensed. "What?"

"End of the line," ordered Avocato.

"Do you know who I am?" hissed Apritom.

Avocato looked down at him with utter contempt. "The question, cadet, is do I care? Move, or you're on report."

"This is – I won't stand for this!"

"You're on report. Name?" Avocato asked the next cadet in line.

Apritom let out the start of a growl, realizing that everyone was heartily aware of his dressing down and that he had managed to get in trouble before classes even started. The sound died in his throat when Avocato looked in his direction. Trying to rally his shredded dignity, Apritom sneered and left, leaving his crony to follow. When the other two cadets came down from the fourth floor, Avocato sent them packing to the end of the line as well.

Purrina came to check on progress after one of the other dorm monitors got wind of the to-do. He had snapped at two of Apritom's friends for sitting on the curb, and at all of them for setting their bags down. Now he stood with Avocato as, nearly an hour later, the four hot and weary cadets at the end of the line received their room assignments.

"You have less than half an hour to set up your rooms and be lined up for dinner. Room inspections will take place while you're eating," Purrina informed Apritom. "You have your assignment. Move!"

Openly fuming, Apritom hesitated. Avocato prayed he said something stupid, but Purrina interceded.

"Is there a problem, cadet?" he asked in that cool tone of voice that told the listener that no matter what he said, he was wrong.

"No, sir," Apritom ground out.

"Dismissed."

They didn't watch as Apritom stalked off. When the doors closed, Purrina shook his head.

"Charming. Well, the hard way it is. I pity his roommate. I'll take the second floor during inspections for the next few days, Avocato. That way he won't be able to point fingers."

"Thank you, sir."

"I confess, being put on report was actually a very good lesson for me," Purrina said. "Something tells me that will not be the case here."

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"Incoming," whispered FannFee as she deposited another heap of pads onto the table.

They were in the deserted mess hall, sorting through stacks of Galactic Standard test padds which had somehow been stored in a disordered bundle. Avocato suppressed the urge to grumble as a voice called out,

"Cadet Avocato!"

Abandoning the table and leaving Currant and FannFee to carry on organizing, Avocato rose and quickly straightened his uniform before facing the caller. To his relief, it was Cataloupe, standing at the main entrance with an unfamiliar figure. Hurrying over, Avocato saluted smartly, taking a moment to sneak a glance at the short and wiry officer being dwarfed by Cataloupe.

He was built on the same lines as Nikos – naturally strong and scrawny, with silver gray fur and a white blaze. His blue eyes were pale and cold, his expression hard. His uniform was severely tailored and unusually ornate, the uniform of someone trying to impress or intimidate. Avocato was reminded of some teenage girls at Catomar's wedding, who seemed to think the more, the better, and ended up wearing far too much jewelry and makeup.

"Cadet," nodded Cataloupe. "This is Major Bitara, who is in charge of the incoming class."

"Sir," Avocato said, immediately knowing what this was about. He could sense by Cataloupe's tone that the colonel neither trusted nor liked Bitara.

"I understand you put one of my students on report already, cadet," Bitara said. His voice was soft, another deliberate tactic to draw attention and hold it.

"If you mean Cadet Apritom, yes, sir, I did. As I reported, while handing out room assignments, Cadet Apritom deliberately tripped another cadet, causing her to fall and drop all her books. Fortunately, she wasn't injured, but when I held Apritom accountable for his misconduct, he chose not to obey my orders. I had already warned him he'd be put on report if he didn't. He is responsible for the position he's in."

"You know who Cadet Apritom is, Cadet Avocato."

"I am familiar with his family connections, Major."

A glower. "Of course you are. I'll cut to the quick. I want you to drop the report."

Avocato blinked in surprise. Cataloupe did not react, meaning he'd been expecting this. "Sir, Cadet Apritom violated the academy's code of conduct and questioned a direct order from a superior. This is not something that can be ignored."

"He's new to the academy and the disciplines here," defended Bitara.

"They're all new, sir, but somehow the other cadets managed to listen and obey."

"Except Cadet Mentine."

"Who was disciplined on the spot for her transgression," Avocato replied, side stepping Bitara's traps. "If the report is dropped, what discipline will Cadet Apritom face?"

"That would be for me to decide."

Which amounted to the incident being swept under the carpet and Apritom getting away with his behavior. As he had probably done all his life, enabled by those who wished to curry favor.

"Actually, sir, according to the academy rules and regulations, it would not. I was the only one present able to dispense discipline at the time of the incident, and therefore the decision falls to me unless an inquiry is called."

"You realize, young Avocato, the day is coming when that cadet will have a great deal of influence."

Influence with whom, Avocato had no idea. Certainly not anyone who mattered. Just because his sister was married to the crown prince did not mean any authority would trickle down to an incompetent brat like Apritom. Bloodlines and breeding were no guarantees of success, even in this modern day. The competition to secure positions of influence was intense, and there was no shortage of highly eligible candidates. The crown did not suffer fools, a fact with which Bitara seemed unfamiliar. Given Apricot was thirteen years older than her brother and almost never seen with Apritom or any of her siblings was very telling to a keen observer.

"The same can be said for many cadets here, Major. Future influence is no excuse for current misconduct."

"I could order you to drop it."

"You could, sir," Avocato agreed, then, in no mood to be bullied when he was in the right, leveled a threat of his own. "If that happens, I will bring formal charges of assault against Cadet Apritom for deliberately tripping Cadet Mentine and causing her to fall."

Bitara's eyes narrowed. Being put on report was a far gentler and safer alternative than being charged. If charged, Apritom could be expelled. Avocato was giving Apritom the best chance possible and they all knew it.

"Why didn't you before?" asked Cataloupe before Bitara could mount another attack.

"Cadet Mentine was uninjured. I know other cadets who benefited greatly from just being put on report. I was hoping that it would be enough to make Cadet Apritom take the academy rules and discipline seriously. If there's a need to escalate the situation, we have room to – Ma'am!"

He snapped to attention as, behind the two officers, Commodore Leoni approached. Cataloupe and Bitara straightened and turned. Small and imposing, Leoni nodded and quietly ordered, "At ease, cadet." Sharp green eyes turned on Bitara as she very deliberately broke up their meeting. "Major Bitara. A pleasure to finally meet you. I know you just arrived, so I was rather surprised to hear you'd come straight here. There's a staff meeting in half an hour. Walk there with me."

Even though it was wrapped in a mild reprimand, there was no way to refuse, especially from someone several steps above him in rank. A little stiffly, Bitara bowed slightly and said, "Of course, Commodore. Colonel Cataloupe."

He ignored Avocato and turned to join her. Leoni swept a warning look over the two left behind before walking away. She had just saved the day for everyone, and unless Bitara was a fool, he'd let the matter drop.

"He campaigned long and hard to be put in charge of this particular class," Cataloupe confided in a thoughtful tone, watching them go.

"Now we know why," Avocato said dryly.

"Ambition is not a bad thing, provided it doesn't overshadow duty."

"Understood, sir."

"Did Purrina explain the commodore's decision to put Apritom in your dormitory?"

"Yes, sir. In truth, Colonel, I don't think he'll be very open to changing his ways."

Cataloupe shrugged. "He's not your responsibility, fortunately. Should Major Bitara make any issue of events, be sure to notify me immediately."

It was a dismissal Avocato was relieved to hear. He wanted to get back to mindless student activities. "I will, sir." He saluted, and beat a hasty retreat.

"And Avocato?"

He stopped and turned, trying not to feel dread. "Yes, sir?"

Cataloupe favored him with a sympathetic half-smile. "Welcome back."