The Cairo Saga, Book 2:
The Solaris Irregulars
DropShip Wataru
Zenith recharge station, Solaris VII
Lyran Alliance
Lt. Steven Clark of Los Alamos Defence Force, champion of the Solaris VII open-league, stood with the rest of the DropShip's crew, watching the news footage of the destruction of the Wolf Dragoon's on the mess-halls view screen. The image changed to show the headquarters of Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission explode as a Navel PPC blasted it from Orbit.
"There are reports that some Wolf Dragoon's unit's made it off-planet during the attack, but Commander Jaime Wolf and General Maeve Wolf are reported missing, presumed dead.” The reporter's voiceover continued, “Word of Blake is still to release a statement as to why they attacked Outreach with such force, and reports continue to come in from the Chaos March, telling of Word of Blake attacks on ComStar HPG stations."
Sinead was still crying, and Clark put his arm around his wife to comfort her. The crew looked on as the monitor showed a vicious space battle between the Wolf Dragoon's Cyclop-1 space station and several Word of Blake Impavaido class destroyers. The station exploded, and the W.o.B Warship's moved off to attack fleeing Dragoon JumpShips.
The com-system by the hatch chimed, and Clark went to answer it. The huge face of Xander, one of Rix's Elementals filled the screen "Precentor Clearwater is here to see you sir."
Clark nodded "Tell him I'll be right down." Xander acknowledge and killed the link. Clark tuned to Sinead "You better come too." His wife stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes, then followed him from the room.
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Clearwater stood in the airlock that attached the Wataru to the massive recharge station. The ComStar man nodded grimly to Clark and Sinead "I need to talk to you concerning these recent events."
Clark raised his eyebrow, and then shrugged "You better follow me then. We can talk in our cabin." He led the way to the captain's cabin.
Sinead sat on the end of the bed, while Clearwater took the only chair. Clark stood by the closed hatched "So what dose all this have to do with us?"
Clearwater rubbed his forehead "ComStar recently received a communication from one of our agents within Word of Blake: the message told us that the attack on Outreach, and the following attacks on the HPG station in the Chaos March, are the first stages of a Jihad, a 'holy war', against the entire Inner Sphere. They seek to destroy society, and then rebuild it in their image. I am afraid to say that ComStar its self held such beliefs at one time. I was there when Word of Blake split from ComStar, and I lost a good friend during the fall of Terra."
Clark looked the Precentor straight in the eye "What has this got to do with us?"
Clearwater looked at Clark, then to Sinead, and then back to Clark "We need your help."
Clark
looked at Clearwater "What do you mean 'We need your help'?"
The
ComStar Precentor rubbed his forehead "Most of our forces are up along the
Clan border. We have no unit's of sufficient size or experience to stand up to
Word of Blake anywhere near here. We're still trying to calm things down from
the Fed-Com Civil War. There is fighting across the entire Chaos March, and the
Jade Falcons are keeping us busy on Blair Atholl. I've just come from there
myself; I had a message to deliver for an old friend." Clearwater seemed
to drift away for a second, but got back to business "There is the
equivalent of ten regiments on Solaris VII: MechWarriors with hundreds of hours
of experience and top of the line machines. You just won the open-league; they
respect you. If you go back as Cairo and ask them to help us, some of them
will. I can arrange transport and supplies for an army, but I don't have the
troops."
“Cairo is
dead, he died in the Coliseum” Clark leaned back against the hatch, “I'm Steven
Clark; I've never won a championship.”
Clearwater
looked at Clark, who saw the fire in the older man's eyes "Word of Blake
has to be stopped. Do you think that they will be content with the Chaos March?
Or even the Inner Sphere? You walk away now and one day they will come knocking
on your door back on Los Alamos, and there will be nothing you or anyone else
will be able to do about it!"
"I'll
help.” Sinead stood up, “I lost some good friends on Outreach."
Clark
looked at his wife "If you think, for even one second, that I'm letting
you get involved in this, you're mad."
Sinead
slapped him "I may be your wife, but you don't own me!"
Clark
rubbed his cheek "I'm not saying that I own you, but you are pregnant,
remember? Word of Blake does have it in for the two of us, and I doubt that
they will want to take ether of us prisoner." He turned to Clearwater
"I'll help you, but you get Sinead to a safe place. That's the deal."
Clearwater
nodded his agreement as Sinead jumped to her feet "If you think I'm
leaving you to take on Word of Blake without me, you're very much mistaken!
We've fought together before, and I'm not going to risk losing you by not being
there to watch your back!"
Clark
went to argue, but the look in his wife's face persuaded him to back down. He
turned to Clearwater "Look's like you got your self two volunteers. I'll
go tell the rest of the crew."
Clark
called a meeting of the entire crew in the Mech-bay, the only part of the ship
that could hold all of them at one time.
"You
all know what has happen to Outreach, and what Word of Blake is up to. Sinead
and I have agreed to help Precentor Clearwater to try and raise an army back on
Solaris. None of you need to join us on this endeavour, in fact I ask you to
think about finding somewhere to hide. If any of you wish to stay, take one
step forwards. Those of you who want to leave can take the next JumpShip
heading your way with no recriminations."
As one, the crew of the Wataru stepped forwards.
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Thor’s Shieldhall, Silesia
Solaris City, Solaris VII
Lyran Alliance
Clark looked at the five MechWarriors before him: Out of the hundreds of pilots on Solaris VII, they where the only ones willing to help him fight Word of Blake. The only good thing to say about them where that they where all experienced, some even had combat-time.
He sat at a table with a note-puter in his hand, and one by one, called the volunteers up. The first was a tall, dark-skinned man. Cairo held his light pen over the computer screen “Name?”
“Hawk-that-Settles” the man said in a dry voice that seemed older than he was.
“Rank?”
“MechWarrior.”
“Do you have a Mech?” The tall man shock his head. Cairo sighed “Go talk to Sergeant McCoy, he will assign you one.”
Hawk nodded and walked over to the next table.
The second man before Cairo seemed to be of Japanese descent, but it was hard to tell in the dark bar. “Name?”
“Akira Takayama” the man said with almost no hint of accent.
“Rank?”
“MechWarrior.”
“Do you have a Mech?” Cairo asked, ready to send the man to McCoy.
“I have a RVN-3L Raven that is in need of some repair, but is in good working order none the less.”
“Go talk to Lt. Dancer for lance assignment.”
Takayama bowed and stepped to the side.
A tall, chestnut haired woman stood before Cairo. He looked up at her “Name?”
“Elizabeth Carpenter.”
“Rank?”
“Sergeant.”
“Do you have a Mech?”
“A TLR1-O Templar.” The woman nodded in curt military fashion.
Cairo was impressed: very few of the new Federated Sun’s OmniMech’s had made it as far as the Lyran Alliance. “Go talk to Lt. Dancer for lance assignment.”
Sgt Carpenter saluted and marched over to Dancers table.
Sinead walked through the door with two men in Wolf Dragoon’s uniform in tow. They stood to attention behind her as she spoke to he husband “Privet René Alphonse and MechWarrior Josh, formally of Clan Jade Falcon. They made it this far, and when they heard you where looking for help, they came looking for me.”
Cairo nodded; his distrust of the Dragoon’s still not lifted “Do they have Mechs?”
Sinead handed over a disc for his noteputer “René has a NSR-9J Nightstar, and Josh has a Timber Wolf, but only enough spare-parts for the Primary variant.”
Cairo nodded “Take them over to Rob for lance assignment.”
His wife smiled at him, and then walked off.
A slight, raven hair woman stood before Cairo. He looked her over “Name?”
“Kerry Slone.”
“Rank?”
“MechWarrior.”
“Do you have a Mech?”
“A Shadow Cat Prime.” The woman nodded eagerly.
Cairo thought about asking her a question, but changed his mind “Go talk to Lt. Dancer for lance assignment.”
The last volunteer stood before Cairo, almost blocking the light as he did. The mountain of a man must have stood two-meters tall, and was almost as heavily built as one of Rix’s Elementals. Despite this, there was genteelness to the way he stood and looked. Cairo picked up his noteputer “Name?”
“Vassili Dante.”
“Rank?”
“MechWarrior.”
“Do you have a Mech?”
“I am afraid that I am disposed at this time.” The bear of a man smiled weekly.
Cairo understood how that could fell: being a MechWarrior without a BattleMech was like being a painter without a paintbrush. “Go talk to Sergeant McCoy, he will assign you one.”
“Thank you sir.” Dante smiled, showing off an immaculate set of teeth.
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Two hours later Cairo sat with Sinead, Dancer and McCoy. He looked over the files on the new members of the unit “Ok, Sinead and I will lead up the Command Lance with MechWarrior Josh and Hawk-that-Settles. Rob, you take the Battle Lance with Carpenter, Alphonse and Dante. It means letting go of your Centurion, but I need someone I know in charge.” The Combine Warrior nodded.
Cairo tapped a few commands into his noteputer and continued “Rebecca will take the Recon Lance with Slone and Takayama. We are still one light-Mech short, but Rix and his boy’s and girls can off-set that.”
The other three nodded their agreement.
There was a slight breeze as Clearwater walked in “Ah, Captain, glad to see you have this all salted out. I have arranged transport for your unit, and I have outdone myself.” The Precentor said with a wolverine smile.
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Solaris Spaceport, International Zone
Solaris City, Solaris VII
Lyran Alliance
Clearwater
led Cairo, Sinead, Jackson and McCoy across the fast landing field. They
rounded a warehouse and stopped before a DropShip. Clearwater smiled “There’s
you new command Mr Jackson: The Shimmering Star. Union-C,
formally property of Clan Smoke Jaguar, taken salvage during Operation
Bulldog.”
Jackson
looked up at the massive DropShip: at 4,700 tonnes, it was more than twice the
size of the Wataru, and unlike the old Leaped-class DropShip, it was of
spherical design. “I’ve never flown a Union, or any other Sphere for that
matter.”
“Don’t
worry; we have a pilot for you.” Clearwater patted him on the shoulder “You
will be the captain.”
The
ComStar Precentor smiled to the four of them “Well, that’s the first part of my
surprise, the second is in orbit.” He led them to a small shuttle with
ComsGuard’s markings. The ride into Orbit was relatively smooth, and they where
soon clear of the atmosphere. Clearwater turned from his seat next to the pilot
and smiled at Cairo “Now this you’re really going to love!” he nodded to the
pilot, who rotated the shuttle through 90-degrees.
A massive
shadow fell over the shuttle. Cairo looked out of the view port and gasped: a
WarShip floated in space before him, the Star of Cameron painted on its side.
Clearwater
chuckled “She’s the Spirit Sight, a Fredasa class Corvette
belonging to Clan Nova Cat. She was on patrol with the SLDF fleet in the
Capellan March when all this started. I talked the Nova Cats into lending her
to us for the duration.”
“What are her vitals?” Jackson got his voce
back.
Clearwater
handed over a noteputer “175,000-tonnes displaced, 415 meters long. She carries
4 NAC/10’s, a NAC/40, 8 NL-45’s, and a small arsenal of anti-fighter and
anti-DropShip weapons. She has a Lithium-Fusion battery system, allowing her to
make two jumps without recharging. She has a crew of 85, and is commanded by a
Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux. Nice man, very friendly, but if you ask me, he’s
spent a little to long in space, if you know what I mean.”
The shuttle banked to the side and lined up to dock with the WarShip.
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Mirandagol District
County Shu, Epsilon Eridani
Chaos March
Commander Tybalt Kelly of the County Shu Volunteer Battalion moved his Lineholder back just in time to dodge the Word of Blake Axeman’s hatchet. The Word of Blake forces where trying to gain control of the CSVB’s Mech depot, and so far Kelly was not doing a good job stopping them. His augmented lance was down two Mechs, and the last three where out-classed by the near company size formation of attackers.
The Axeman raised its hatchet high, getting ready for a killer blow, when it seemed to stiffen, then fell to the ground. The voice of Jorge Jourewicz, JJ to his friends, came over the radio “Kelly, there is a second company of Mech’s moving in from the north. I can’t make out the marking, but that Axeman was just taken down by a Templar!”
Kelly moved his Mech out onto the parried ground in time to see a Mad Cat OmniMech take down a Word of Blake Catapult with a barrage of 40-LRM’s. The fire-support Mech crumpled under the onslaught and fell. A Word of Blake Mauler tried to stand its ground, but received four Gauss slugs for its trouble, thanks to a Thunder Hawk and a Banshee.
The surviving Word of Blake Mech’s fled from the battlefield, harried all the time by the mysterious company of Mech. Kelly keyed his radio to an open frequency “This is Commander Tybalt Kelly of the County Shu Volunteer Battalion to un-identified Mech’s: identify yourselves.” He knew there was little he could do if they where hostile, but he decided to act friendly, at lest to start with.
An Orion steeped forward and raised its right arm slightly. The radio crackled “This is Captain Steven Cairo of the Solaris Irregulars. We’ve been sent to see how bad the situation is here on Epsilon Eridani, and to see if we can help.”
Kelly was puzzled “I can’t say I’ve heard of the ‘Solaris Irregulars’, but I do recognise your name and Mech Captain Cairo. I saw your battle in the Coliseum on Solaris VII. What are you doing here, and who sent you?”
Cairo laughed, “Let’s just say the Word of Blake wouldn’t let me go home, so I took a job with ComStar. It’s my job to scout out the Chaos March while the ComsGuard’s and what remains of the SLDF set themselves up for a counter-attack.”
Kelly decided to trust Cairo “How are things out there? Word of Blake shut down the HPG about a week before they attacked.”
“Grim, most of the Chaos March is now under Word of Blake control, as is most of the Free Worlds League and the Capellan Confederation. They’ve attacked worlds in the Lyran Alliance, Draconis Combine and Federated Commonwealth. Epsilon Eridani is one of the last free planets in this sector, and if you ask me, it’s only a matter of time before they get you to. I’m sorry.”
“What can we do to slow them down, buy the rest of the Inner Sphere time?”
“I have a plan to do just that…”
Kelly smiled to himself.
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Duvic Palatine
Epsilon Eridani
Chaos March
Kelly
still didn’t understand Cairo’s plan, but he had agreed to go along with it
regardless. The three Mech’s left from his lance led the Solaris Irregulars
through a mountain pass that lead to the Fitzgerald Hydro-electric plant. The
plant was built into a dam that blocked a fast-flowing river, and used the pent
up energy to generate electricity.
They Mech
convoy rounded the last bend and the Fitzgerald plant came into sight. Cairo
ordered Akira Takayama to position his Raven where it would be able to
get a clear signal. The Heavy and Assault lances moved off to attack the
defenders, while the Scout lance and the CSVB held their ground, ready to act
as reinforcements if needed, and to warn of reinforcements.
Kelly
watched in wonder as the Irregulars tore the defending Duvic and Word of Blake
forces to pieces. He watched as the Shadow Hawk he knew to be piloted by
Sinead Cairo blasted a TMP-3M Tempest to scrap, then moved on to help
her husband finish off a damaged W.o.B ALB-3U Albatross. The Clan
weapons the Irregulars carried mad short work of the older Duvic Mech’s, and
gave them the edge on the Word of Blake Mech’s.
The only
casualty was Hawk-that-Settles, his Avatar OmniMech damaged badly by a
pair of Gauss Slugs from a Word of Blake MR-V2 Cerberus. The assault
Mech made the mistake of falling under the guns of René Alphonse’s Nightstar
and Vassili Dante’s Banshee, and its pilot died a quick death.
Kelly
watched as on of the Elementals from the scout lance placed a large metal
object at the base of the dam. Cairo’s voice came over the radio “Ok Akira;
let it rip.”
“This
is Highball to Lancaster: Fire for effect!” The Raven
pilot’s voice came over the radio.
“Rodger
that Highball, Lancaster is three-minuets out and counting.” An
unfamiliar came over the radio, “Fire in the hole!”
The link
broke, and Cairo’s voice came over the radio “Ok people, lets get out of
dodge before this all goes down.” The Irregulars pulled back to the
mountain pass, followed closely by the CSVB Mech: the last thing they wanted
was to be caught this far into enemy territory on their own.
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High
above the retreating Mech’s, Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux sat on the bridge of
the Spirit Sight “Helm; bring us round into a firing position. Guns;
lock onto the beacon and prepare to fire.”
Both
orders where met with a quick “Aye, aye Sir!”
Slowly,
the Corvette turned to that its nose faced the planet. The targeting sights on
the main screen changed from red to gold, and Leroux gave to order to fire.
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Kelly
watched as the Fitzgerald plant was ripped apart by rounds from the Spirit
Sight’s NAC/40. The river burst through the ruptured dam and flowed to the
sea, flowing through the main Word of Blake camp, destroying it totally.
Cairo
turned his Orion to leave, but turned it back to Kelly “Tell them the
Solaris Irregulars where here.”
“I
somehow think they know!” Kelly laughed.
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SLS Spirit Sight
Nadia
Jump Point
System
AGE-9762-6947
The
Chaos March
Cairo
looked at the noteputer the com-tech had delivered to him and sighed. The war
was not going well: ComsGuard forces found themselves having to deal with Word
of Blake insurgents rather than attacking the enemy head on.
The
dissolution of the Star League meant that most of the SLDF had been recalled to
their home states. Only the Eridani Light Horse and the 1st Royal
BattleMech Regiment remained as coherent units, and they where busy holding
onto Kathil: if that world fell, and the McKenna Shipyards with it, the
Federated Commonwealth would fall apart, like it almost had during the forth
Succession War. The orders from Clearwater where strange, but then Cairo
thought, nothing made sense anymore.
He called
the Irregulars to the briefing room, as well as Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux and
the Spirit Sight’s navigator. When the last stragglers had finally
arrived, Cairo activated the room’s holo-projector “This is the world of Rio in
the FedCom. Capellan forces, believed to be under the command of Word of Blake,
took her two weeks ago. Rio is one of a chain of planets that has two HPG
stations, allowing real-time communication between New Avalon and Tharkad, and
even as far as Tukayyid. We have been ordered to disable one of the HPG’s, thus
slowing communication between Word of Blake forces.” The image changed to show
a massive building, with a huge satellite dish next to it. “This is the HPG we
are aiming for. It’s the smaller of the two, and Intel says it’s not as heavily
guarded.”
A chorus
of laughter came from the assembled MechWarriors. Cairo allowed himself a
chuckle “I know, I know: Military Intelligence is an oxymoron, but it’s all we
have to go on. If we try and land the Star, the Wobblies will spot us
and we will never make the planet. So instead, we high-and-mighty MechWarriors
get to play at being mere grunts. Now, before any of you start on about how you
signed up to be Mech pilots, not ground-ponders, remember this: you joined the
Solaris Irregulars, and at no point did I say that this was exclusively a Mech
unit.”
The
hologram expanded to show an area five-kilometres across “We will take one of
the Spirit Sight’s shuttles and land here.” A red dot appeared on the
map. “We will then split into two teams. The first team, lead by Lt. Dancer
will take up position on this rise here.” A second dot appeared “They will be
the assault teams back up and fire support, if needed. This team will be made
up of the following: Lt. Dancer, Vassili, Rix and his Elementals, Kerry and
René. The assault team that will enter the HPG and plant the explosives will
be: Elizabeth, Rebecca, Hawk, Akira, Lenny Rodgers, and myself. You all know
Lenny, and he knows explosives. Now get some sleep. We jump in twelve hours,
and the sooner we launch the surer we are that we have not been spotted. Good
night.”
The
Irregulars shuffled out of the room till there was just Cairo and Sinead, who
stood up and walked up to her husband “Why didn’t you include me in the raid?”
Cairo
looked at his wife “Sinead, your six months pregnant: you were barely ably to
fit into your cooling vest on Epsilon Eridani. You can’t go playing at being a
commando at a time like this. The Doc wasn’t happy about you piloting your
Mech, and I can’t say I blame him.”
“So
that’s it, no more missions for me. I just sit around here looking after the
baby, is that it?”
“No, but
no combat until after you’ve recovered from the birth. I know I can’t stop you:
if I could, you’d be on Tukayyid, like Clearwater offered. Is it so wrong that
I want to keep my wife and child safe?”
“I
haven’t had someone care about me so much in a long time.” Sinead smiled,
“Thank you Steve.”
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HPG station Beta
Rio
Federated Commonwealth
Cairo
inched forwards slowly, the silenced sub-machinegun in his hands an unfamiliar
weight. The helmet he wore dated back to the first Star League, and was a
masterpiece of lost-tech. It not only contained a night-vision system, but a
flash dampener and encrypted com-system too. The fibre-optic camera at the end
of his weapon was linked to the HUD in his visor, and allowed him to see around
corners.
He looked
across the corridor to where Elizabeth Carpenter was crouching. She nodded at
him and raised her hand to motion the next team forward. Rebecca, the former
Clan Wolf MechWarrior, shuffled past, followed closely by Hawk-that-Settles.
Cairo
turned round to cover the rear as Akira Takayama and Lenny Rodgers made their
way past. A Word of Blake technician made the mistake of choosing this moment
to step out of a side room and into the corridor. Cairo pulled the trigger on
his SMG and sent a three shot burst into the man’s head.
Ping!
Ping! Ping!
The near
silent sound of his weapon going off was followed by the louder sound of the
tech hitting the floor, dead. Cairo held his breath, but no one came to
investigate the sound. Cairo raised his hand to hurry the raiding party along.
Two-by-two
they made their way along the corridor and down a stairwell to the basement
below. Rodgers opened the backpack he was carrying and handed each of the
raiding party a block of C4 plastic explosive attached to a remote detonator.
As he guarded the doorway, the others placed the charges in pre-determined
places, and then regrouped in the stairwell.
Two more
Techs’ and a Guard had the misfortune of running into the Irregulars as they
made their way out of the building, and all three of them died without ever
knowing how or why. The raiders slowly made their way out of the HPG, springing
between cover to dodge searchlights and cameras. A short burst of static on the
radio informed Cairo it was safe to leave the compound, and the raiders met up
with the reserve team half a kilometre away.
Cairo
activated the timer on the explosive charges, and the two teams double-timed it
back to the hidden shuttle. The high-speed Clan shuttle had them quickly away
from Rio, and by the time the charges detonated, toppling the HPG transmitter
dish and destroying the targeting system, the Irregulars were already on their
way back to the Spirit Sight, keeping station at a pirate-point
in-system.
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SLS Spirit Sight
Nadia
Jump Point
System
AGE-9972-6707
Federated
Commonwealth
Cairo was
reading when he got the call to report to the Spirit Sight’s bridge. He
was able to make is way there easily due to the small magnetic plates he had
sewn into his shoes. Jackson had given him the idea, saying that he always used
them. When he reached the Warship’s bridge, the first thing he noticed was the
expression on Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux face. The Clan Naval officer handed
Cairo a noteputer.
Cairo
read the data on the screen twice before looking up “When did you receive
this?”
“Two
hours ago.” the Star-Commodore looked glum, “It has taken it that long for it
to sink in.”
“May I
use the intercom to address the crew?”
The
Claner handed over a microphone.
Cairo
wondered what to say, and in the end, he spoke from the heart “Attention all
hands, now here this: we have just received a HPG communication from Tukayyid.
The worlds of Solaris VII, Northwind, Epsilon Eridani, Glengarry, Hesperus III
and Kathil have fallen to Word of Blake forces. There are reports that elements
of the Northwind Highlanders and the Grey Death Legion where able to escape
their home worlds, and that units from the Eridani Light Horse and the 1st
Royal BattleMech Regiment managed to make it off of Kathil, but these unit’s
are no bigger than a single regiment at best. Armed Forces of the Federated
Suns, Lyran Alliance Armed Forces, and Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery units
have been forced to pull back from worlds bordering the Free Worlds League, the
Capellan Confederation and the Chaos March. These units are said to be at most
half-strength. Over half the FedCom WarShip fleet is believed lost after the
fall of Kathil.”
He gave
the crew’s of the Spirit Sight and Shimmering Star a moment to
take in what he had just said. “Reports also tell of an army of Mercenaries
massing in the former Arc Royal Defensive Cordon. Units said to be involved
include the remnants of the Wolf Dragoons, Northwind Highlanders and the Grey
Death Legion, as well as the Kell Hounds. Dozens of smaller units have also
made their way to planets under Morgan Kell’s control, and are said to be
massing for a counter-attack along the Lyran front.”
Again
Cairo broke off to give the crews time to comprehend what he had said.
“Precenter Martail Victor Steiner-Davion has declared a full state of
emergency, as have Archon Peter Steiner-Davion of the Lyran Alliance, First
Princes Yvonne Steiner-Davion of the Federated Commonwealth, and Coordinator
Theodore Kurita of the Draconis Combine.” Cairo struggled to regain his
composure “If any of you wish to leave the Irregulars due to the current state
of affairs, you may do so without any fear of reprisal.”
In the
end, no one took up Cairo’s offer: The Solaris Irregulars where in the war for
the duration.
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SLS Spirit Sight
Nadia
Jump Point
System
AGE-8932-7670
Federated
Commonwealth
Cairo was
awoken by a kick to the ribs that sent him tumbling from his bed. He was about
to ask Sinead why, when he saw the look on her face: she was in pain. For a
moment he couldn’t think why and then he remembered: the baby, she was in
labour.
He
grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his nightclothes, then helped his wife
from the bed. She leaned on him, panting like the doctor had told her to, her
vice-like grip almost crushing his hand. They managed to make it to the
infirmary before Sinead had to collapse onto a bed.
The
Med-Tech on duty called for the doctor from the Shimmering Star: the
Clan doctor on the Corvette had no experience with delivering children. No
sooner had the doctor arrived then she ushered Cairo from the infirmary.
McCoy was
standing in the corridor, leaning against the bulkhead, smiling “Don’t worry; I
was the same the first time.”
“Shamus,
you only had one kid.” Cairo looked at the gruff old Tech, bleary eyed.
“Aye; and
I was just like you are now. Any chance of you telling me the names you and
Sinead have decided upon? It’s just that there is still time to place a bet:
Paul closes the pool the moment the baby is born.”
Cairo
shook his head laughing “My first command: my executive officer gets pregnant,
and the rest of you are placing bets on the name!”
“True,”
Jackson ambled round the corner, “but it would have helped if you and Sinead
had decided you wanted to know what sex the kid is: I have people betting on if
it’s a boy or a girl, on top of the name.”
Over the
next hour, every one of the Irregulars found some excuse to pass by the
Infirmary. Even Rebecca, although the fact that she was sharing a cabin with
Robert Dancer probably had a lot to do with that. The Clan MechWarrior wandered
off while Dancer sat down next to Cairo.
“How are
thing between you and Rebecca, Rob?” asked Cairo, seeking some distraction from
what was going in inside the infirmary.
“Sometimes
it is really good: we got along and have some interests in common.” Dancer
seemed to think for a moment, “But any time I talk about the future, she
freezes up on me.”
Cairo was
about to answer, but the infirmary hatch opened. He shot to his feet, and ran
inside. Sinead was lying in bed, a small bundle in her arms. Cairo tentatively
walked forwards, smiling. His wife smiled at him “Steven, meet your daughter,
Jane.”
There was
the sound of running feet from the corridor, and Jackson and McCoy looked
through the hatch.
“It’s a
girl, Jane.” said Cairo, holding his daughter.
Jackson
typed a few commands into a noteputer and shook his head “Son of a bitch!”
McCoy
looked at him “Who won?”
“Simon
Clearwater...” Jackson showed him the name on the screen.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
SLS Spirit
Sight
Zenith Jump Point
Bristol system
Federated Commonwealth
Cairo played the message from Clearwater for the fifth time, but still couldn’t believe it. He sighed, and then called the Irregulars to the briefing room. Over the next few minuets they ambled through the door in ones and twos: even Sinead joined them, although she was still on leave after Jane’s birth.
Cairo dimmed the lights and activated the holo-projector, displaying a map of the Inner Sphere “Ok people, this is a rush job, top priority. After the fall of Kathil, the remains of the defending forces fled towards New Avalon. On the last ship out was Jackson Davion, Marshal of the Armies of the Federated Suns, and cousin of First Princes Yvonne Steiner-Davion. That ship, the Avalon-class cruiser Melissa Davion, was badly damaged, and her jump-drive is off-line.” Cairo punched a few controls, and the hologram zoomed in to the area surrounding Kathil. “She’s stuck here, in a system halfway between Talcott and Chebanse. Word of Blake is looking for her, and I don’t need to tell you what could happen if they manage to capture Marshal Davion alive.” The Irregulars shudder at the thought.
The holo-projector shut-off and the lights came back on.
Cairo looked at his assembled command “In a few minuets we will make the first
of two jumps that will take us to the Melissa Davion. Once there, we
will retrieve Marshal Davion, and escort him to New Avalon. The Spirit Sight is the only WarShip in range, and command is un-willing to risk such an
important mission to a regular JumpShip. Word of Blake command has issued
orders to capture Jackson Davion at any cost, so this is likely to get
hairy.” He turned to Lt. Scot, the former Clan pilot and commander of the
Irregulars Aerospace assets “I need you and Janet to operate in conjunction
with the Spirit Sight’s fighters. I’m placing you under
Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux’s
command for the duration of this mission.” The Clan pilot nodded.
A klaxon sounded, warning of an imminent hyperspace jump: the room seemed to swirl as the Spirit Sight’s Kearny-Fuchida drive tore a hole in the fabric of space-time and sent the ship 30 light-years across the Galaxy. No sooner had the room stopped spinning that the klaxon sounded for a second time, and the room again swirled as the Corvette’s Lithium-Fusion battery system allowed it to make a second jump as soon as coordinates where feed into the guidance system.
Cairo made his way to the bridge. Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux turned to him “We have found the Melissa Davion, and have exchanged codeword. Marshal Davion is on his way over as we speak.”
The Star-Commodore
was cut-off by one of his crew “IR signature forming, 20-km off the port bow.
War-Book says it is most likely a Suffren class destroyer.”
Cairo and Leroux looked at each other: only Word of
Blake used the 540,000-tonne Suffren.
It out-weighed the Fredasa-class Spirit Sight almost 4
to 1. The Clan officer reacted quickly “Sound General-Quarters! Answer battle
stations on all weapons! Launch the fighters! Lock the grav-deck in place! Seal
all interior hatches.”
The bridge came alive
with activity as the Spirit Sight prepared to go into battle.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
SLS Spirit
Sight
Zenith Jump Point
System
AHT-8372-3991
Federated Commonwealth
Cairo tried to run to his quarters, but the lack of gravity made it impossible: in the end he had to pall himself along a handrail. He ducked into his quarters and grabbed his knife from the closet: The curve-bladed kukri was a family heirloom that dated back from before the first Star League.
Seined was sat in a chair, holding Jane in her arms “Steven, what’s going on?”
Cairo grabbed her arm and pulled her from her seat “Another
WarShip is inbound. The War Book says it’s a Suffren class
destroyer. Leroux is trying to
coordinate an attack with the Melissa Davion, but most of her
weapons are down. From what I can gather, the plan is for the Melissa Davion
to hold-off the Suffren
while the Spirit Sight hot-loads its jump-drive, then makes a run
for it.”
“I may just be a
Mech-Jock, but I know for a fact that hot-loading a jump-drive is very
dangerous!” Seined came to a stop, almost sending Cairo tumbling.
“Leroux said something about using the Lithium-Fusion battery’s to take the stress off the drive core. Come on!”
Cairo lead Seined
into the very heart of the Corvette.
They finally reached a door marked Damage Control. Cairo opened the hatch and pushed
his wife and daughter inside “This is the safest place on the ship. Stay here!”
The hatch closed before Seined could say anything, the reassuring sound of
heavy latches slamming into place told Cairo the hatch was sealed.
Cairo double-timed it
back to the docking port, and into the Shimmering Star. He found
the rest of the Irregulars hurriedly getting into body armour “Ok people: our
job is to help repel any Word of Blake boarding parties that try and take over
the Spirit Sight. We’re split up into lances: Scout lance will
take engineering. Battle Lance, the bridge. Command lance will act as a roving
patrol, and will intercept the enemy if and when they latch on. Let’s go!” He
grabbed his armour and SMG, and then ran for the door.
Cairo called at stop when the command lance had reached the fighter bay. As he got into his body armour, Hawk-that-Settles turned to him “Sir, with your wife on medical leave, we’re one body short.”
Cairo shook his head and pointed down the corridor: Lenny Rodgers was ambling down a corridor with a shotgun slung over his shoulder.
“All set boss?” The Maori asked.
Cairo nodded and pulled a radio from his belt “Bridge, this is Defence One. We’re in position.”
Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux’s voice came over the link “Rodger that Defence One. The WarShip has just jumped in. It’s the Sword of Blake, one of the Warships that attacked Kathil. I don’t think she’s seen us, but it is only a matter of time. Stand by to repel boarders.”
The Spirit Sight hid itself behind the Melissa Davion as the Sword of Blake began its attack. The Melissa Davion opened up at extreme range with its AR10 anti-ship missiles and its Medium Navel Gauss Cannons. The weapons slammed home against the prow of the Suffren-class Destroyer, ripping away armour and obliterating the Navel PPC. The Word of Blake ship responded with a stream of rounds from its bow mounted NAC/20’s.
The NAC fire gutted the portside armour on the front half of the Cruiser, destroying the remaining weapons housed there. The Fed Sun ship began to turn, trying to bring fresh armour to bear, but a crippling broadside tore all the way through to the jump-drive, mortally-wounding the WarShip. The Spirit Sight continued to pull away from the action, careful to keep in the sensor shadow of the stranded Cruiser.
The Sword of Blake rounded the burning hulk of the shattered Melissa Davion as, for the first time, it detected the fleeing Corvette. The Word of Blake ship wasted no time, and fired its navel lasers at the Spirit Sight: armour melted and floated-off in globules as the anti-ship weapons searched for a weak spot. The Nova Cat ship began a series of evasive manoeuvres in an attempt to shake off the Destroyer.
So intent in destroying the Spirit Sight was the Sword of Blake that it failed to
notice the Melissa Davion bring itself around and fire its main
engines. The Cruiser pointed itself at the Destroyer, and in a final act of
vengeance, rammed the Word of Blake WarShip at full speed. The two ships seemed
to merge as armour gave way and internal-structure bent, the Word of Blake ship
buckling at the impact. Lifeboats blasted clear from the Melissa Davion,
moments before its reactor when critical, and the bright flash rivalling a sun,
before being permanently snuffed out.
On the bridge of the Spirit
Sight, the crew stood and saluted their lost comrades. Star-Commodore Leroux slowly composed himself, and turned to
his operations officer. “Launch the shuttles and the DropShip, retrieve the Lifeboats.” The dark haired woman nodded and
talked into a microphone.
Cairo pulled himself
through the hatch “What happened?”
Leroux pointed at the screen “The Melissa Davion rammed the Sword of Blake. Both ships are lost. We are picking up survivors. I only hope this victory was worth the cost.”
Cairo nodded his agreement and left. As he pulled himself
down the corridor to the mess hall, he saw Rebecca coming the other way, a sad
look in her eyes “Sir, that last
attack, it depressurised part of engineering: Akira Takayama
is dead.”
Cairo turned and started to punch
the bulkhead, the sound echoing through the ship, and out into space; the space
that had just been filled with death.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
ComStar Satellite
Facility Alpha-Five
Portland, New
Avalon
Crucis March
Federated Suns
Cairo sat on the cliff top and looked down at the waves
crashing below, the sun colouring them a golden hue. After the Spirit Sight
had arrived at the Nadia jump-point with Jackson Davion on board two weeks ago,
he had been less than surprised to find Simon Clearwater waiting at the
recharge station for him. The ComStar Precentor had said how sorry he was over
the death of Akira Takayama, and how he would
personally see to it that his family was taken care of.
Cairo believed the second part, but not the first: the look in Clearwater’s eyes had told him that the mysterious ‘HPG administrator’ saw the death as merely a foot note, a statistic. Cairo found himself asking himself for the hundredth time why he had agreed to help. He knew Word of Blake didn’t like him, and would be happy to see him dead, but they where after Steven Cairo, and he had a set of travel papers in his real name, Steven Clark, hidden in his personal effects.
He heard the rumbling roar from a heavy VTOL over the crashing waves, headed towards the facility’s helipad. It wasn’t until the transport turned for the final approach that he saw the markings on the side: Armstrong-1, the first Princesses VTOL. He had known this moment would come for a long time, but he dreaded it none the less.
He glanced around the compound, and saw at lest a dozen security agents, all of them looking at him intently. He knew that there would be twice as many that he couldn’t see. He shrugged, and then straightened his jacket. A door on the side of the VTOL swung down, and a man Cairo recognized as Tancred Sandoval stepped out, had a look around, and then helped his fiancé from the transport. Yvonne Steiner-Davion looked stunning in the simple blue dress, and Cairo understood why her people adored her. Even her shadow flattered her, the thin wisp of black dance his direction.
He watched as the first Princes of the Federated Suns walked towards him. He bowed as she reached him. She smiled, “I assure you Captain Cairo, it is I who should honour you. You saved my cousin, and by that, possibly my realm.”
Cairo shook his head, “I did very little, your majesty: It was Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux and his crew who rescued your cousin. I was merely there.”
The first Princes smiled again “My brother Victor tells me that if not for you, the Solaris Irregulars would never have been formed, and the Spirit Sight would not have been in a position to help. But I must ask: why did you get involved in all this? You are not from the Inner Sphere, and I doubt Word of Blake would have any interest in a…” she trailed off, ashamed of what she had been about to say.
Cairo smile “You can say it: a small Periphery world that dos not matter in the grand scheme of things. Don’t worry; it’s true. I had the chance to walk away and let history take it course, but I didn’t. You can tell the Preccentor Martial that I fight for my own reasons, and that I fight on his side should be enough for him. I mean nether of you any disrespect, but I lost a good man during the fight with the Sword of Blake, and the Spirit Sight lost five crewmembers. We were able to save fifty-three survivors from the Melissa Davion, out of a crew of two hundred and ninety-four. I’m sure that there will be a memorial to them somewhere, but I’m not used to dealing with death on such a large scale. Until a year ago I was a mere lieutenant, only responsible for twenty lives, twenty-one if you count my daughter.” He had to hold back the tears that were forming in his eyes, “Now I’m a Captain, and I have over one hundred people relying on me to make the right decisions, and to keep them safe. I don’t like it, but it’s what I have to do. I know your responsible for a entire nation, but your have advisors, and regional governments to do most of the work: I’m all that between the people under my command and death.” As Cairo finished, his shadow seemed to agree with him, swelling with the courage that he had to show to even speak so candidly, nonetheless speak of his hardships as Captain.
Yvonne Steiner-Davion placed her hand on his cheek “You remind me of my brother Peter: He found his way, so will you. Good luck, Captain Cairo.”
And with that, she left, her shadow dancing back to the VTOL, and the flaring lights from the ship, matching the sun, left Cairo seeing stars, as he slowly began to walk away, his shadow still matching his thoughts, still proud, still brave, still worried, still sad that he had to keep putting his friends and compatriots into danger.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
SLS Spirit
Sight
Zenith Jump Point
Draconis Combine
The mood in the mess hall was subdued: the damage done to the Spirit Sight by the Sword of Blake meant a long trip back to the Clan Nova Cat dockyards. Cairo had been able to secure the Irregulars some R&R time on Tukayyid while the repairs took place. He intended to use the time to help the replacement for Akira Takayama, Sylvester Darwin, get used to working with the rest of the scout lance.
Cairo looked at Darwin from over his cup of coffee: the tall, dark haired warrior had volunteered to join the Irregulars on New Avalon. He had been a lance-commander in the newly re-formed First Davion Guards, but had taken a demotion to Private to join up. His UZL-2S Uziel added considerable firepower to the under-gunned Scout Lance, but it lacked the same blend of agility and electronics that Akira’s RVN-3L Raven had brought to the unit.
Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux entered the room and walked up to
Cairo “I need to talk with you. Would you please come to my office?”
Cairo shrugged “Ok.”
Leroux lead the way
through the maze of corridors that made up the Spirit Sight’s grav-deck. They finally reached the
Star-Commodore’s privet office, and sat in a pair of comfortable chairs. Leroux
pulled a noteputer from his pocket and handed it to Cairo “In the last hour I
have received 4 Priority-A HPG messages from the ComStar station on An Ting.
The first one informed me that Word of Blake saboteurs have been able to
severely damage my Clan’s WarShip repair faculty in orbit of New Circe. The
second told me that Clan Ghost Bear has offered to repair the Spirit Sight
at their Alshain facility, but only if you where onboard. The third ordered me
to go to Tukayyid after we have finished at Alshain. The forth was a request that we detour to Luthien and pickup
two packages. I have no idea how this chain of events as taken place, but I
have a feeling that it is important that we do as we are asked. The decision is
yours.”
Cairo was in shock:
an invitation to the capital world of the Ghost Bear Domain was not something
that happened everyday. He thought or a moment: he had helped the Ghost Bears
on Constance, but that was four years ago, and he doubted that was the
reason the Ghost Bears where willing to
let a potentially hostile WarShip, even one as small as the Spirit Sight,
enter such an important area.
He knew of Clan Nova
Cat’s tendency to follow signs and visions, and decided to trust Leroux on the matter “Ok, we will go to Alshain by way of Luthien.” He stood to leave,
“if you do not mind, I will inform my people.”
“And I will inform my
crew.” The Clan officer nodded.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Nadir Recharge Station
Luthien
Draconis Combine
Even Cairo had to admit that the recharge station was
impressive: built during the first Star League, the huge space station was
built to facilitate the recharging of JumpShips in less time then would
normally be necessary.
Clearwater was waiting for Cairo as he stepped through the airlock that linked the Spirit Sight to the station: "Hello again Captain. Good to see you made it on time."
Cairo grunted an answer. He still didn't like the ComStar Precentor, if that was he really was: Clearwater seemed to have more power and recourses then anyone with his rank should have. The only time Cairo had seen him act in a normal way had been over a year before, when he had asked Cairo for help. Cairo looked around "So where are these packages that I'm meant to take with me?"
A voice came from behind him "I have them, Cairo Steven-san."
Cairo span round and almost lost his balance when he saw who had spoken.
Hohiro Kurita stood flanked by a pair of ISF agents who looked at Cairo with contempt. The heir to the throne of the Draconis Combine handed Cairo a large round box, sealed with the official mark of House Kurita "If you would be so kind as to see this reaches Khan Jorgensson of the Ghost Bears."
Cairo took the package and bowed "I would be honoured to perform such a duty, Kurita Hohiro-san."
Hohiro smiled, then handed him a much smaller package "I request that you place this in the hands of Preccentor Martial Victor Davion personally."
There was pain in his eyes as he spoke, but Cairo bit back the question of why: he had read of the friendship between Hohiro Kurita and Victor Davion, and how it seemed to have ended after the Star League conference on Marik four years before. He bowed again "I will see to it that it reaches him safely."
Kurita bowed in return and walked off.
Cairo turned to Clearwater once the heir to the Dragon was out of sight "What was that all about? Couldn't he send a message to the Preccentor Martial through normal channels?"
The Precentor shook his head "There’s a rift between the two of them. It is a complicated personal matter, and I will not go into it with you at this time." Clearwater stood silently for a moment, and then turned to Cairo "Good luck on your trip to Alshain. The Ghost Bears are a honourable people, and will treat you with the same respect you give them. I recommend that you keep your bondsman close to you as a sign of your respect for them as warriors, and try to play down the fact that you are married with a daughter. The Ghost Bears may be tolerant compared to other Clans, but the Trueborn's are still very self-superior."
"I'll try not to start a war." Cairo smiled.
With that, he returned to the Spirit Sight.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Inbound
Alshain system
Ghost Bear Dominion
The Spirit Sight emerged from hyperspace and entered the Clan space for the first time in eight years. Immediately, the White Fang and the White Claw, a pair of Essex class Destroyers, formed up on ever side of the smaller Fredasa class Corvette.
Cairo looked at the bridge view-screen, and then turned to Ivan Leroux "Well, it looks like we are here for the duration."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It took the Spirit Sight five days to reach Alshain itself and the defences were even more impressive then those at the jump-points: five Warships, including a Leviathan-2 class Heavy Battleship, orbited the planet. Hundreds of fighters darted about.
"That is the Mountbatton, a Texas class Battleship, the Flagship of Clan Snow Raven.” Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux pointed out one particular WarShip to Cairo, “I am surprised to see her here."
Cairo nodded "Something is definitely going on here, and I intend to find out what!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Silverdale
Alshain
With a gentle hiss, the Shimmering Star's airlock slid open. Cairo, dressed in a ComsGuard uniform that Clearwater had given him on Luthien, slowly walked down the step to the spaceport landing-pad. Following him, Sinead, Robert Dancer, Rebecca, Paul Jackson and Ivan Leroux stepped out of the DropShip, all in full dress-uniform. Lenny Rodgers and Rix watched from the hatch, heavy weapons ready but hidden from sight.
An Elemental dressed in a simple field uniform stepped forwards from a line of assembled Mech's. He saluted Cairo " I am Star Captain Jake Kabrinski. I have been sent to escort you and your officers to Khan Jorgensson. If you will please follow me."
He motion to a ground car that sat weighting behind the line of Ghost Bear Mech's. Cairo turned to the DropShip, and signalled that all was well, then followed the Elemental to the car.
The drive to the Khan's office was smooth, and Cairo tried to relax, knowing that he should be safe if he watched his manners. He wished he had been able to convince his wife to stay on the DropShip, or better yet, back on New Avalon. But as ever, Sinead refused to leave his side, saying that she would not trust anyone else with his safety.
The ground-car pulled up in front of an imposing stone building, the Ghost Bear flag flying above it. They got out of the car, and Cairo turned to his subordinates "No matter what, stay cool. We don’t know why we’ve been called here, but the last thing we want to do is start another war with the Clans. Let's deliver the package from Luthien, hear what Khan Jorgensson has to say, then get back to the DropShip in one piece, ok?" they all nodded, and then followed Kabrinski into the building.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Star Captain Kabrinski led Cairo's party into a large meeting room decorated with works of fine art. There were paintings of Mechs and landscapes, but the one that caught Cairo's eye was a simple picture of a ringed planet, half of the globe in the shadow of night. He was so engrossed in the painting that he didn't notice the door behind him opening: it was Sinead's coughs that span him round to face the new arrival, a tall man wearing a simple jump-suit marked with the Ghost Bear emblem.
The man smiled "I am Khan Bjorn Jorgensson, of Clan Ghost Bear. Welcome to Alshain, Captain Steven Cairo."
Reacting instinctively, Cairo came to attention and saluted the Ghost Bear Khan. He allowed himself to relax a little "I thank you for your greeting, Khan Jorgensson, and for you generous offer to repair the Spirit Sight. Hohiro Kurita of the Draconis Combine entrusted me with a package for you, but it was taken from me by your security agents."
Jorgensson smiled again "Do not worry Captain, I have received the package, and you may tell the people of the Draconis Combine that it was appreciated."
Cairo forced himself to relax more "If I may ask, why did you insist that I accompanied the Spirit Sight here?"
The Ghost Bear Khan ushered his gests to some comfortable chairs "I read the report of your trip to Constance. You should know that Star-Colonel Gilmour was greatly impressed with your conduct and prowess as a MechWarrior." He signalled to an Elemental by the door, which quickly left the room. "But that is not why I asked you to come here: I need to know the true extent of the Word of Blake Jihad. My intelligence agencies tend to rely on picking up civilian transitions, but I would feel better hearing it from a warrior who has fought in the war."
Cairo took a deep breath "The war goes badly. Word of Blake, and their Marik and Liao allies have taken a vast number of worlds in the Chaos March, the Lyran Alliance, the Federated Suns and the Draconis Combine. The few units that have managed to make any sort of organised stand against them have been destroyed completely."
Khan Jorgensson looked at Cairo for a moment "You speak very plainly for someone who is talking to a potential enemy. With the Inner Sphere busy fighting Word of Blake, it would be easy for my Clan to attack and take worlds."
"Easy, but not honourable.” Cairo smiled, “I am not a trained diplomat, or am I even a native of the Inner Sphere. I come from a periphery world that almost no one has heard off. I have no real feelings for the Inner Sphere, or for the Clans, but I know that Word of Blake is a danger to the very existence of humanity as a species, and must be stopped. From what I have been told and have read about the Ghost Bears, you are a Warden Clan, and feel that your destiny and duty is to defend the Inner Sphere from some unknown enemy. I say this to you: Word of Blake is that enemy!"
"I could not agree with you more." The Ghost Bear Khan smiled.
Despite his previous words, Cairo was shocked by Khan Jorgensson's reply. He shook his head a few times and tried to get his mind to work "Are you saying that the Ghost Bears will help fight Word of Blake?"
The Khan smiled "If we are asked, we will help. To simply send my warriors into Combine or Lyran territory without concert would cause much confusion. I still need to deal with the Council of Khan's, but Khan McKenna of the Snow Ravens has agreed to help with them. Her Clan is in no position to offer warriors to the war effort, but they can offer Warship's and transports. You saw her flagship, the Mountbatton, in orbit on your way down?" Cairo nodded, and Jorgensson continued, "Well, after we have finished here, I ask you to go to Tukayyid and present my offer to Preccentor Martial Davion."
Cairo nodded again "I will convey your offer, and I hope that he accepts. The Inner Sphere may be able to stop Word of Blake on its own, but only at a terrible cost." He stood "If you do not mind, I will return to my DropShip and leave. I was told that the repairs to the Spirit Sight would not take long, and I wish to be underway as soon as possible."
The Ghost Bear Khan stood "I will send the White Fang with you as escort to the border: Clan Wolf is desperate to learn what is going on here, and I do not trust Vladimir Ward to bide by my pledge of safecon. Have a safe and speedy journey, Steven Cairo." The two men shook hands, and Cairo left.
In the car taking them back to the Spaceport, Cairo turned to Star-Commodore Leroux "How soon to you think the Ghost Bears could be ready to move against Word of Blake?"
The Clan officer rubbed his chin as he thought "I doubt that Khan Jorgensson would make the offer if his forces were not in a position to move now. If Victor Davion accepts, the Ghost Bears will want to move immediately. The Word of Blake Jihad, as you said, supports the Warden philosophy. The Snow Raven and the other Warden Clans may help, as will the Warden elements of the Crusader Clans, but that depends on what the Council of Khan's says. Some of them may realise that the Warden philosophy is the true spirit behind the founding of the Clans, but that is yet to be seen."
Cairo was about to reply when Sinead pinched him "You do realise that the painting your where looking at was painted by Khan Jorgensson?"
Cairo was dumbstruck "How do you know that? It didn't have a signature."
"I saw the way he looked when he saw you where so engrossed in it that you didn't notice him enter the room. His was a look of pride."
Leroux nodded "Your wife speaks the truth: Khan Jorgensson did indeed look proud that you admired that painting as much as you did. I would also say that he painted it."
Cairo sat back and smiled as the car entered the spaceport "It's nice to make friends."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Zenith
Jump point
Altenmarkt
system
The
Time/Space Continuum ripped apart, and the Spirit Sight jumped-in from
the Eguilles system. Cairo was able to suppress the urge to be sick, and slowly
the bridge came back into focus. He had almost regained his sense of
equilibrium when the alarms started going off. He focused on the main view
screen, and gasped.
A second
WarShip, a Lola III class Destroyer baring the mark of Clan Wolf hung in
space 200-km off the port bow. He turned to Star-Commodore Leroux "How
long until the White Fang jumps-in?"
The
WarShip captain punched a few commands into the computer "About
10-muinets, but in ten minuets, we will be dead or bondsman: There isn’t any
way that we can defeat her."
"Then
we will have to keep her talking until our escort arrives."
Cairo
adjusted his uniform while the ComTech's finished making the connection. The
star-field despaired from the view screen, and the image of a red-haired woman
in a Clan naval uniform appeared "This is Star Captain Jo Carns of the
Clan Wolf WarShip Nature's Wrath. Surrender your vessel and prepare to
be boarded."
Cairo
smiled slightly "This is Captain Steven Cairo of the Solaris Irregulars.
The Spirit Sight is operating under my command, and I was pledged the
right of safecon by Khan Bjorn Jorgensson of the Ghost Bears himself. This is
Ghost Bear territory, is it not?"
"The
Ghost Bear's do not scare me.” StarCaptain Carns face changed to a vicious
scow, “I am operating under the direct command of Khan Vladimir Ward: he has
ordered me to capture your ship if possible, and if not, to destroy it."
Cairo's
smile widened "If you wish to fight me, I must tell you that three times I
have fought Clan Wolf, and three times I have won. I have even captured eight
bondsmen, plus a Goshawk, two Sulla OmniFighters and five sets of elemental
armour, not to mention a small mountain of Clan weaponry."
"I
have been made aware of your 'exploits', Captain Cairo, and I think you will
find there is a difference between a BattleMech and a WarShip. Surrender."
Cairo
looked at Leroux, who smiled. "You should now be picking up the IR
signature of an incoming WarShip. That ship is the CGB White Fang, our
escort. Unless you wish to start a war between the Wolfs and the Ghost Bears, I
suggest YOU surrender YOUR vessel to me. Take your time Star Captain, you
have," Cairo checked the timer on the screen "two minuets until she
jumps-in."
StarCaptain
Carns was shocked, but she slowly pulled herself together "Very well,
Captain Cairo, I surrender my vessel."
Cairo
grinned, "Consider yourself and your entire crew bondsmen of the Solaris
Irregulars, and I claim your ship as Isorla. You will remain in command, and
will travel with the Spirit Sight to Tukayyid. I call upon your honour to do as
your bondsmaster tells you."
Carns
just nodded.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Precenter
Martail's office
ComStar
compound
Tukayyid
Free
Rasalhague Republic
Cairo sat
wearily in a chair outside the Precenter Martail's office: he had spent the
last week arranging billets for crew of the Nature's Wrath. The problems
had started as soon as the ship jumped into the Tukayyid system, setting-off alarms
with the defensive systems.
The
office door opened, and Simon Clearwater stepped out "The Precenter
Martail will see you know."
Cairo got
up and walked between the massive oak doors. Victor Davion sat behind a
cluttered desk at the far end of the room. His Elemental bodyguard, Tiaret
Nevversan, gave him the once over, her hand resting on her pistol holster. He
stood and extended his hand "So you must be Steven Cairo. I'm glad to
finally meet you in person."
Cairo
shook the offered hand, then pulled a small package from his pocket
"Hohiro Kurita entrusted this to me on the Luthien recharge station."
Victor
opened the package and pulled-out sheet of paper that he quickly read. His
expression changed to one of wonder as he pulled a simple photo-frame from the
box. Cairo could see tires form in the Precenter Martail's eyes, but Victor put
the photo into a draw and turned back to his guest "What news do you bring
from Alshain?" he said, offering a chair.
Cairo sat
down and drew a deep breath "Khan Jorgensson has offered to help fight
Word of Blake, but only if you ask: he will not send troops into Lyran or
Combine territory without permission."
Victor
turned to Clearwater "Send an immediate message to Alshain: the Lyran
Alliance, Federated Suns, Draconis Combine, Free Rasalhague Republic and
ComStar officially request the help of Clan Ghost Bear in fighting Word of
Blake. Send a message to Peter, Yvonne, Theodore and Christian Mansdotter
letting them know what’s happening. And see if Phalen can come here to
coordinate."
Cairo
stirred uncomfortably "Sir, I also wish to resign my commission. I am no
longer needed, and I want to go home."
Victor
looked like he had been slapped "You can't be serious!"
Cairo
shook his head "I am completely serious: I entered the Inner Sphere five
years ago to hunt-down Sebastian Cain. I did that, and killed him. I agreed to
stay on to help deal with Word of Blake while ComStar arranged a
counter-attack. Well, you now have the Ghost Bears, so you don't need me. Good
day." Cairo stood and left the room.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jackson
was waiting for Cairo back at the barracks that had been assigned to the
Solaris Irregulars, "So, you told them you quit?"
"Yep.”
Cairo nodded “If you want to stay, you can: I'll higher someone to pilot the
Wataru back home." He walked to the room that he shared with Sinead, who
sat reading a book.
She
looked at him as he took his LADF uniform from the closet "So, I finally
get to see my new home?"
Steven
Clark nodded as he changed "And Jane gets to grow up on a planet rather
than a WarShip." He sat down on the bed next to his wife "I'm tired
of war Sinead: I just want it to end."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tukayyid City
Tukayyid
Free Rasalhague Republic
The sun was shining, and Sinead and Steven Clark where enjoying their last day on Tukayyid. The quiet café that Sinead and picked for lunch was out of the way, but they where not that surprised when Simon Clearwater found them. The ComStar operative sat down at their table and ordered a coffee "Look, Steven, you can't go: you're the only commander to win a battle with Word of Blake. The press is building you up as the hero of the war. We still need you."
Clark shook his head "I can't do it, I can't be responsible for so many lives. Look, the Irregulars are set up, give Rob Dancer command: he's been a member from the beginning. You even have the Nature's Wrath to play with now. You don't need me."
Clearwater turned to Sinead "Can't you talk some sense into him?"
"If I could talk Steven into anything, he'd never have faced Cain on Solaris VII.” Sinead laughed, “Anyway, I want my daughter to grow up on a planet, not a series of DropShips and Warships. We've made up our minds."
Clearwater sighed, "Ok, I admit defeat: you both want to get out, and I can't blame you." He stood to leave "I wish you both the best of luck with the rest of your lives."
No sooner where to words out of his mouth then the front of the café exploded. Clark felt himself being lifted through the air: the sensation was almost pleasant, but the impact against the rear wall was not. He managed to get himself into a seated position, and through the remains of the front wall he saw a man trying to reload a portable SRM launcher. Clark pulled himself to his feet, and managed to get his service revolver from its holster.
Aiming with blurry eyes, he began to fire at his attacker. The first two rounds missed, but the third smashed the man’s left kneecap. The next two rounds ripped through his right lung. The sixth round missed over his left shoulder, but the seventh entered just below his chin and snapped his neck in two. The final round blew the back of the man’s head off, his brains creating a strangely beautiful cloud signalling the end of the threat
The gun fell from Clark’s shaking hand, and he made his way back into the ruins on the café. Clearwater was standing un-steadily, shaking his head slowly, and trying to make the ringing stop. Clark walked past him, and came to the place where Sinead lay. Blood ran is streams from her ears and nose, and her eyes where closed. Clark fell to his knees and checked her pulse: slow and irregular.
He looked around the derbies, his eyes unfocused as shock took hold "Someone call a doctor!"
He was still
shouting two minuets later when the first ambulance arrived.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Clark
stood staring through the glass screen at the bed where his wife lay. Tubes and
wires led from her to a battery of medical equipment. Doctors, their white
coats mimicking her pale skin, went over charts as they discussed what to do.
Victor
Davion ran along the corridor, Tiaret Nevversan easily keeping pace with the
shorter Precenter Martail. Robert Dancer intercepted the two of them before
they reached Clark, "Sir, I don't think it's a good idea for you to talk
to him right now: he's in shock, and the doctors say Sinead only has a 50-50
chance of survival."
Victor
looked into the hospital room "What's wrong with her?"
Dancer
shrugged "What isn't? She has a ruptured spleen and eardrum, a crushed
lung, internal bleeding and a broken arm. They say she's lucky to have go this
far."
Victor
slowly walked along the reminder of the corridor to where Clarks stood,
"I'm sorry that this happened. We have increased security around the
hospital and the barracks where the Irregulars are based. Isis Marik is looking
after Jane."
"WHAT!”
Clark span round, looking ready to floor the other man, “Her father is the
lunatic leading the band of religious fanatics that just tried to kill Seined,
and you giver her my daughter!"
Victor
took a step back "Calm down. The Thomas Marik who's leading Word of Blake
is not Isis' father, he's a double: ComStar substituted him for the real one
back before the Clan invasion. I've known since '58, but kept quite because we
needed the manufacturing capabilities of the Free Worlds League. I told Isis
the truth at the start of the war. I trust her."
"I
want back in!" Clark seemed to calm down slightly.
"Your
in no fit state to fight.” Victor shook his head, “You need time to get over
this; and then we're talk about you rejoining the war."
"Look,
sir, ether you let me back in as leader of the Solaris Irregulars, or I'll tack
my Mech, my DropShip and my WarShip and I'll go attack Word of Blake on my
own.” Clarks eye's burned with rage, “I captured the Natures Wrath, and
the way Isorla works means she belongs to me. I own my Mech, and I own the Wataru.
Use me or get the hell out of my way!"
Victor
gave up "Ok, your back in; the Irregulars are yours. I'll arrange for
someone to take over as executive officer, until your wife is better."
With that, he turned and left.
Clark
turned to Dancer "Go back to barracks: Tell them I'm back. Tell them
Cairo’s back." Dancer nodded, and walked-off. Clark turned to look at his
wife, tires in his eyes. They changed, growing to the diamond-hard eyes of the
man known as Steven Cairo. He pressed his face against the screen, "I'll
make them pay for this; I swear it!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cairo
called the assembled Irregulars together, as well as Ivan Leroux and Jo Carns.
As the last of the warriors stumbled into the briefing room, he dimmed the
lights and turned on the over-head projector linked to the computer in front of
him: A face appeared on the screen. Cairo began the mission briefing,
"This, to those of you who don't know, is Major General Archer
Christifori, of the LAAF. He's a war-hero who won the Star League meddle of
Horner on Huntress, and served under Victor Davion during the Fed-Com civil
war."
A few
keystrokes, and the image changed to a map, "At the start of the jihad, he
was on his home world of Thorin, but was called back to here, Hesperus II, to
defend the Defiance Industries plant there. When Hesperus II fell to Word of
Blake, Christifori's command company fought a holding- action while the units
under his command pulled-back and managed to get off- planet." The map
changed again to a photo taken from orbit. "As of last communication, Christifori
is here, in the Myoo Highlands. Our job is to go in and pull what ever is left
of his command out." The projector turned off and the lights came back on.
Cairo sat
up straight in his seat "Due to the fact that the Spirit Sight only
carries one DropShip, and the Nature's Wrath can't carry any, we are
going to leave the Shimmering Star behind. Our new DropShip is the Mary-
Ellen Carter, an Overlord. We only have her for this one mission, so
let's keep her clean and tidy." A few laughs came from the assembled Irregulars,
but Cairo dealt them scarce attention.
Vassili
Dante put up his hand, and Cairo nodded permission to speak, "Who is
stepping in as executive officer until Sinead gets back on her feet?"
Cairo
winced uncomfortably at the mention of his wife's condition, but he knew the
question deserved an answer, "The Precenter Martail said he would assign
someone for the time being. They should arrive today."
"They
have arrived.” A voice called from the doorway, “Good to see you again
Steven."
Cairo
turned to look Jack Cameron in the eyes. The former leader of the Dog Soldiers
Company of the Wolf Dragoons stood at attention in his uniform.
Jackson
reacted quickly, tackling Cairo as he drew his revolver from its holster: the
bullet missed wide and hit the doorframe. Rix grabbed the gun from Cairo's hand
and pulled him to his feet. Cairo looked at Cameron; hate in his eyes
"YOU! What the hell are you doing here?"
"I
was assigned here.” Cameron shrugged, “They said you needed a new executive
officer. Something about your regular one is in hospital. Where is Sinead by
the way?"
Rix
fought the urge to let go.
"She's
the one who's in Hospital you bastard!" Cairo's snarled.
"But
the file I was given gave the name of your former XO as S Clark?” Cameron
seemed miffed, “Hang on: you got married, and when you decided to leave, you
started using your real name. My mistake, I apologise. I'm sorry to hear about
what happened. I'll visit her."
"You
go near her and I'll kill you myself! “ Cairo almost broke-free of Rix's grip.
“Stay away from her! You're the one who sent her to spy on me. If you think I'm
having you as my XO, you're mistaken."
"Orders,
signed by Precenter Martail Davion himself.” Cameron shook his head, “It's me
or nothing, and your need every MechWarrior you can get for this mission. What
do you say?"
"This
mission, then your out of here so fast your feet won't touch the floor.” Cairo
spat at the floor, “You get me?"
Cameron nodded.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Zenith
Jump point
Hesperus
system
Word
of Blake occupation Zone
Lyran Alliance
Spirit Sight and the Nature's Wrath timed their jumps so that they appeared in system at almost the same time. No sooner had the ship's finished the transit, then their proximity alarms went-off: another WarShip was in system. Cairo floated over the holo-tank on the Spirit Sight's bridge, "Who is she?" he asked Star-Commodore Leroux.
The veteran spacer rubbed his chin "Her beacon gives her name as Blake's True Disciple, a Fox class corvette, but her transponder code is Davion."
Cairo looked confused, so Leroux continued, "Over the years, ships change ownership, and people change the name as they see fit. But, to help identify a ships place of origin, each House and Clan has its own prefix-code. The Disciple's prefix is 403, witch is the code for the old Federated Commonwealth, but all Fed-Com ships that remained in the Federated Suns after the civil war changed back to 404, while the Lyran Alliance ships changed to 303, to old Lyran Commonwealth code."
Cairo looked at the raider-screen "So, she's a Fed-Com ship that was taken by Word of Blake at some point. What Foxes have gone missing?"
Leroux typed commands into the computer, and the screen flashed, "Only one; the FSS Arthur Steiner-Davion. She was last reported in the Coventry system, waiting to attack our old friend the Melissa Davion during the Civil War. She disappeared without trace."
"Well, we now know what happened to her.” Cairo smiled grimly, “Signal the Nature's Wrath: I want her taken intact. Not only will it be a moral-boost to the entire Inner Sphere, but also it will help the Fed-Sun's to have another WarShip after the fall of Kathil."
The Irregular's two Warships advanced on the Word of Blake corvette. The Nature's Wrath began the battle with a spread of White Shark and Barracuda missiles.
The Blake's True Disciple returned fire with its own Barracuda missiles, but the faster Clan ships soon got within their effective range. The Spirit Sight and the Nature's Wrath where able to catch the Word of Blake ship in a deadly crossfire of Navel laser and Autocannon fire, disabling the Disciple while taking minimal damage.
Cairo smiled as he activated the ships caller "Lieutenant-Commander Jackson to the bridge."
It only took a few minuets for the DropShip captain to arrive, and he was smiling when he did: "Another WarShip? What are you doing Steven, starting a collection?"
"No, returning one.” Cairo laughed, “She's the Arthur Steiner-Davion, formally of the Federated Commonwealth. Word of Blake captured her during the Davion Civil War. We're going to give her back. I want you to go over with the boarding party and take command of her for now. Get her working while I go rescue General Christifori, and we're take her back to Tukayyid with us."
Jackson nodded and ran off along the corridor.
Cairo turned to Leroux "Hold the jump-point as long as you can; If heavy Word of Blake reinforcements turn-up, signal us then jump to the pirate- point behind the forth planet. Stay alert; we may need to call you in- system if another WarShip turns up at the Nadir Jump point."
Leroux smiled, "Good luck Captain Cairo: you may need it."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Assault orbit
Hesperus II
Word of Blake occupation Zone,
Lyran Alliance
Cairo felt his stomach lurch upwards as the clamps holding the drop-pod released. The transit from the DropShip Mary-Ellen Carter to the upper atmosphere of Hesperus II started silently, with only the steady tick-tock of the drop-clock and the ever-changing altimeter to show that any time had passed.
As the atmosphere outside the pod started to thicken, a steady howling grew from barely audible to hurricane-force as the steel and titanium cocoon forced its way through the ever-thickening air. A buzzer sounded, and five- seconds later the cocoon blasted clear of the Orion.
The Mech continued to fall towards the Myoo Highlands at hundreds of miles an hour. The first drone-parachute deployed, and the Orion shock as the speed started to bleed-off. The micro-chute detached, and Cairo continued his plunge towards the Word of Blake controlled planet. Cairo adjusted the controls for the detachable jump-packs that where mounted on his Mech's back: slowly, Retribution span round. Cairo could clearly see the rest of the command lance spread out below his falling Mech.
Again a buzzer sounded, and the main- parachute deployed with a thump. The old Orion shudder as the acceleration dropped to zero, and the Mech started to slow-down. Cairo eased his thrusters, trying to remember the words of his instructor back on Los Alamos: keep it steady and try not to land at an angle.
His HUD came alive with contacts on the ground: some the green of friendly units, others the red of the enemy. He broke radio-silence, "Command Lance, Battle Lance, this is Command-1: the LZ is hot, I repeat, the Wobblies are on the ground below us. It look's like Christifori's people are throwing us a welcome party. Arm your weapons and be ready to come-in fighting. Let's lock and load!" he saw Azure PPC bolts shoot-forth from Cameron's Thor and Carpenter's Templar, striking out at targets below.
He targeted a W.o.B ALB-3U Albatross and blasted it with his arm-mounted Large Heavy Laser. The beam of coherent light meted its way through the assault Mech's right arm, dropping the limb to the ground
Off-balance, the Albatross fell to the ground. With a quick adjustment of his thrusters, Cairo lined up his Orion with the back of the struggling Assault Mech.
Cairo cut the jump-pack free and the Orion struck with a force many times it's own mass: the relatively thin rear armour slowed the heavy Mech to a relative speed of only a few kilometres an hour, but failed to save the W.o.B Mech.
Cairo set his radio to a general frequency, "Listen up Wobblies: the Solaris Irregulars are here, and it's payback time!" he switch back to the command channel "Irregulars, ATTACK!"
He grinned as the Mech's of the Command and Battle lances began to tear into the Word of Blake forces.
Cairo
stepped his Orion out of the remains of the W.o.B Albatross, and
began target still-standing enemy Mech's. He turned off his comunit and opened
up the door in the back of his mind that kept the madness at bay. He gripped
his controls so hard that his knuckles went white.
It is
often said that people fight like demons when they are angry, but was not true
of Cairo: he fought like a sane person. None of his shots went wide or missed.
Despite being out numbered by the Word of Blake forces, Solaris Irregulars
began a steady advance towards the remains of Christifori's command company,
trapping the Wobblies between the two formations.
Cairo
stalked the battlefield like a god, dealing death and destruction to all those
who dared appose him. He surveyed the carnage: MechWarrior Josh was down, his Timber
Wolf disabled with a blown knee-actuator. The Word of Blake Black Knight
that dealt the damage crumpled when four Gauss Rifle round, courtesy of Robert
Dancer, René Alphonse and Vassili Dante, hit it at once. The W.o.B Mech's tried
to run, but where trapped like rats in a barrel, and one-by-one, they died.
Cairo
opened turned his radio back on and set it to the frequency Clearwater had
given him back on Tukayyid, "This is Captain Steven Cairo of the Solaris
Irregulars calling Major General Archer Christifori."
A stocky Hunchback
took a step forwards, "I am Major Katya Chaffee, General Christifori's
second in command. We where told that a rescue mission would be launched, but
we did not expect it to be by a unit with a reputation like the Solaris Irregulars.
I am afraid that the General was capture two days ago. He is being held in the
HPG station in Maria's Elegy, the planetary capital."
Cairo bit
his lip, "Then we will have to get him back. Our DropShip is set to land
50-km north of here, I suggest we go meet it." He cut the comlink and
turned his Mech north. The remains of the 1st Thorin regiment's command company
fell in behind, the Irregulars brought up the rear.
Major
Chaffee brought her Hunchback up alongside Jack Cameron's Thor,
and then activated a tight-beam communication system, "What's the deal
with Cairo? I've never seen anyone fight like he did!"
The
former Dragoon sounded hesitant, "It's a long story, but the most resent
part of it is Word of Blake assassins just put his wife Sinead, my predecessor
as XO, in hospital on Tukayyid. She was still in a coma when we jumped out to
come here. He tends to take that sort of thing personally. Word is he shouted
at Precenter Martail Davion when he was refused permission to lead the
Irregulars on this mission."
"That
must have taken some guts!"
“Cairo
has guts, but it's anger the drives him now. Point him at any Word of Blake
force and he'll take it down. He almost shot me, but that's a long story that
I'm not proud of. Just be glad he's here to help."
The Major was left with her thoughts.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Maria's Elegy
Hesperus II
Word of Blake occupation Zone
Lyran Alliance
Cairo's plan was simple, but given the time constraint, it was the only plan that could work. Cairo, Dancer, Dante and Cameron, dressed in Word of Blake security uniforms, escorted a handcuffed Katya Chaffee between them. As they approached the HPG station, Cairo turned to the 'prisoner', "This is your last chance to change your mind Major."
Katya shook her head, "I'm getting Archer out of there, one way or another."
Cairo nodded, "Then I hope you forgive me for this."
Before Katya could answer, Cairo swung the butt of his assault rifle round, catching her on the back of her head, "Move it!" he shouted in a gruff voice. The four 'guards' pulled their semi-conscious prisoner up the steps to the entrance of the HPG.
"Who is this prisoner?" The lieutenant in charge of the guard detail stopped them.
"Sir!” Cairo came to attention, “Her dog tags identifier her as Major Katya Chaffee of the 1st Thorin Regiment, LCAF. We were ordered to bring her here for interrogation."
The lieutenant nodded, and signalled for the doors to be opened.
A quick elevator ride took the raiders down to the prison level, and allowed Katya time to recover, "Was that really necessary, Captain?"
"Had to make it look good.” Cairo shrugged, “That lieutenant was looking at us while we spoke before crossing the road. I needed him to think I was just a dumb thug."
Katya rubbed the back of her head with her now un-cuffed hands "Well, next time, tell me before you knock me out." The elevated reached its destination, and the raiding party drew their weapons.
The Word of Blake guard who sat facing the elevator died when a 9mm round from Cairo's silenced pistol hit him between the eyes. The other three guards in the corridor also died sudden, silent deaths, and soon the Irregulars had secured the prison block. Cairo checked a computer terminal, and was surprised to find that Christifori was the only prisoner. They quickly found the cell he was being kept in, and using a length of detonator-cord, blew the lock off.
Katya ran into the cell and lifted Christifori off of the floor, "Archer, it's me, Katya. Are you ok?"
The General focused his weary eyes "Katya! But how? Who are these people?"
Cairo pulled up the visor on his riot helmet and saluted "Captain Steven Cairo, Solaris Irregulars. We've been sent to rescue you. I suggest we get out of here now."
The rescue party made their way out to the back of the building, only to find the way blocked: the lieutenant from the front of the building stood at the centre of an entire platoon of infantry platoon. He pointed his gun straight at Cairo's head, "That's far enough. You thought that I would not be told of prisoner transfers? Drop your guns and raise your hands."
Cairo dropped his gun, followed by the other Irregulars.
Then he saw the glint of sunlight reflecting off of Plexiglas, and smiled.
"Plan B people." He whispered trough gritted-teeth. He flexed his wrists, and a pair of laser pistols appeared in his hands as if by magic. He brought them down and started firing just as the Elementals of the scout lance jumped over the compound wall, followed closely by Rebecca's Goshawk and Sylvester Darwin's Uziel.
The arrival of the Goshawk and the Uziel tipped the balance completely into the Irregulars' favour: the heavy machineguns the light Mech's carried ripped the un-armoured Word of Blake soldiers to shreds. Cairo's lasers burned those who had been able to find cover from the rain of death.
The wooden gates exploded inwards as a ground car hit them at high-speed. Cairo could see Lenny Rodgers behind the wheel. He turned to the rest of the raiders, "Let's get the hell out of Dodge before the local garrison gets here."
Dancer and Cameron helped the still groggy Christifori into the back of the car, while Dante lobbed a bag of grenades into the HPG station: the resulting explosion gutted the ground floor.
Cairo ran to the ground car, and pulling a GPMG from the passenger seat, stood-up through the sunroof and sprayed the remaining Wobblies with tracer- fire. The armour-piecing rounds set off a Jeep's full tank, and it was blown 50-feet into the air. Cairo looked down at Rodgers, "DRIVE!" He managed to drop down to the passenger seat as the car lurched-off at break-neck speed. The Mech's and Elementals of the scout lance ran cover for the fleeing car as it raced from town.
Myoo Highlands
Hesperus II
Word of Blake occupation Zone
Lyran Alliance
Rodgers didn't stop the ground car, but drove it into the cargo-bay of the Mary-Ellen Carter at such a speed that he barely had time to hit the brakes. As soon as the last Mech was onboard, the DropShip took of at maximum speed: the G-forces pinned the occupants of the cars into their seats.
The DropShip rocked several times as fighters from the local Word of Blake garrison tested their mettle against the Overlord's armour: none of them survived the battle with the DropShip's impressive armament.
Eventually, the acceleration decreased, and Cairo was able to turn to Christifori, "Well General, I hope you where not inconvenienced by your sudden check-out of your accommodations back on Hesperus II?"
Christifori laughed, "Believe me captain, that is one hotel that will not get any stars from me."
"Well all we have to do now is: reach the jump-point, jump back to friendly space and deliver you to Tukayyid.” Cairo smiled, “Easy."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tukayyid City
Tukayyid
Free Rasalhague Republic
The Mary-Ellen Carter landed softly, and Cairo walked, duffle bag in hand, down the cargo ramp. He looked up at the sky, and the starts seemed to dance: despite it being almost 3 A.M. local time, DropShips by the dozen still made their way down through the gravity-well to Tukayyid City Spaceport.
Across the concourse, he could see a Clan Wolf-in-Exile DropShip unloading Mech's and equipment. Dozens of MechWarriors marched from troop transports to a line of trucks that stood ready to take them to barracks. He looked up to see a flight of Aerospace fighters shoot by with their afterburners glowing in the dark.
Cairo smiled: for now, at least, this was home.
As he walked across the landing pad, he thought of the trip back from Hesperus II: long weeks of tedium while the jump-drives of the three Warship's recharged, then the nauseating oblivion of a hyperspace jump. He was grateful for the Lithium-Fusion battery systems that the ship carried, cutting the four-month trip down to just two.
He reached the Spaceport terminal, and hailed a taxi. He told the driver to head for the hospital where Sinead was, and relaxed in the back seat for the short drive. Tukayyid City had certainly seen some changes while he had been away: prefab buildings covered what had been vacant lots. He saw MechWarriors in the uniforms of a dozen units: Lyran, Draconis, Fed-Sun's, Mercenary, and even a few Clan pilots, sticking to small groups. The war was certainly heating up for such a force to be assembled.
The hospital was quiet, and Cairo's ComStar pass got him past the security guards who had tried to pointed out visiting times to him. He quietly walked along the corridor to his wife's room: she lay still on the bed, most of the tubes and bandages removed.
Cairo asked the nurse on duty if there had been any changes, "Well, she stopped bleeding internally not long after she got here. We have been able to repair most of her injuries, and now it’s just a case of letting her come-around in her own time." Cairo thanked the nurse, and sat himself down in the chair next to the bed.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cairo woke next morning to the feel of a hand resting on his own. He sat bolt upright, and was greeted with a smile from Sinead.
"How long have I been out?" Her voce was groggy, but she was awake.
"About five mouths.” Cairo clasped her hand tight, “You where pretty badly banged up."
"What happened? The last thing I remember was sitting in a café, talking to Clearwater."
"It was Word of Blake. One of their agents fired an SRM at the café. I managed to shoot him before he could re-load."
"Where's Jane?"
"Isis Marik is looking after her. Don't worry; it's a long story. I had to go on a mission, only got back last night."
"So how am I?"
"Well, the nurse last night told me you where almost completely better. They are a bit worried about your sense of balance: the blast ruptured your eardrums."
"So I may be barred from piloting a Mech again. Well, at lest I'm still alive, and you're here. Now go get my daughter: I want to see how she's grown while I've been asleep. And have a shower, you stink like a skunk."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tukayyid
Free Rasalhague Republic
Cairo
sat, his back resting against a palm tree, looking out to sea. Sinead lay in
the sun, trying to get some colour back into her skin after her hospital stay.
Jane was playing with a bucket and spade, trying to pile up the soft sand.
Cairo smiled: it was times like this he was content, despite everything that
had happened to bring him to the point in his life.
As he
looked at the horizon he saw a black dot that started to grow. Picking up a
pair of binoculars, he focused in on the aircraft: it was some kind of VTOL
transport, and it was heading directly for him. The radio next to him beeped.
He sighed and picked it up.
"Cairo."
"Steven,
there is an emissary from Clan Wolf looking for you.” Clearwater's voice
came over the link. “They asked for safecon, and Victor granted it. They say
they want to talk to you. I don't know why, but be careful."
Cairo
banged his head against the tree,
"They've
found me. I'm sending Sinead and Jane back to town. Call Jackson; have him meet
them there. I'll deal with this on my own. Out." With that, he turned the
radio off.
Sinead
looked up, "If you think for one moment that I'm leaving you."
Cairo
raised his hand, "One: you are in no condition to fight if needs be. Two:
One of us needs to look after Jane, and they asked for me by name. And three: I
don't want you in any more danger than necessary. Please, for me, just go meet
Jackson: send him along if you want."
Sinead
reluctantly stood, and lifted her daughter off the ground. Cairo didn't move
until he herd the ground car pull away.
He slowly
stood up, and then reached round to check that his Kukri was still in place at
the small of his back. Slowly, the VTOL came in to land and settled on the
beach. Two un-armoured, but heavily armed, Elementals climbed out of the
transport and took up cover positions. Cairo stood unmoving, his arms crossed
across his chest. A door in the side of the transport opened, and it was all
Cairo could do to keep his face straight when he saw whom the passenger was.
Katherine
Steiner-Davion stood before him in the ceremonial dress of a Clan Wolf
Star-Commander. She smiled at him in a way that was obviously meant to endear
him to her, but failed: Cairo had read about her rule as Archon of the Lyran
Alliance, and had talked to General Christifori about the Civil War. He was
only glad that he had sent his wife away: Sinead's feelings towards the woman
now stood before him where lese than polite. He did note that her uniform gave
her name as Katrina, and did no note any surname or Bloodname.
She
walked towards him, "Captain Steven Cairo, I presume?"
"Star-Commander
Katherine."
That got
a reaction, but only slight, "Please, call me Katrina. I find rank very
impersonal." She continued with a smile.
"I
was informed that you wish to talk to me." Cairo continued to stand a
still as a rock, his eyes unreadable behind his sunglasses.
"Khan
Vladimir Ward would be interested to know of what you talked to Khan Bjorn
Jorgensson of on Alshain last year."
"That
was a private discussion, and Khan Jorgensson chooses to share it with his
fellow Khans, that is up to him. I will not speak of it with you. Is there
anything else?"
Katherine's
eyes narrowed, "I had hoped that as a Lyran citizen, you would talk openly
with me…"
"My
wife is Lyran, but I am from the Periphery.” Cairo raised his hand in objection,
“Please do not try and call on patriotism for my wife's homeland to get the
information you wish. As I said: is there anything else you wish to discuss,
Star-Commander?"
"There
is the matter of the Nature's Wrath.” Katherine went back to the smile
“Khan Ward feels that you did not obtain her as Isorla in the correct manor. We
would like her back."
"HA!”
Cairo flung his head back and laughed, “Your Khan sends a ship to kidnap me
while I am under safecon, and now he has the gull to ask for his ship back.
Perhaps he would have preferred a war with the Ghost Bears, quiaff?" Cairo
could see Katherine's anger rising, but she did her best to hide it.
"Neg,
Captain Cairo, my Clan has no wish to fight the Ghost Bears." She looked
round to see a pair of VTOL's approaching along the coast at speed. She turned
back to Cairo, "This is not over, Captain." She hurried back to her
transport, and it took off in a hurricane of sand and spray. It was soon out of
sight.
The two
new VTOL's landed, and Cairo smiled when Victor Davion climbed from the first
one. Precenter Martail walked up to Cairo, "Who was it?"
"No one important." Cairo shrugged, as he turned to leave, "Just your sister."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tukayyid
Free Rasalhague Republic
The Shadow
Hawk moved at top-speed across the open grassland. A Wolfhound
appeared from behind a hill and fired its ER Large Laser at the heavy Mech. The
Hawk hit back with a blast from its twin Clan ER Medium Lasers, and then
closed the range to bring its Rotary AC/5 into play.
The
high-speed stream of depleted-uranium slugs tore the Wolfhound's right
leg off, sending the Mech to the ground. As the light Mech tired to get into a
sitting position, the Shadow Hawk fired its Clan Streak SRM-4. The
missiles hit the Wolfhound in the centre torso, ripping away the armor
and levering its gyro exposed, and a blast from the ER Medium Lasers melted it
to slag.
Leaving
the downed Wolfhound behind, the Shadow Hawk continued until it
reached a wide river. Without breaking its stride, the Mech took to the air on
plumes of fire, easy clearing the water. The rocky nature of the far bank made
the going tough, but the Shadow Hawk took it in stride.
Eventually
the grassland gave way to forest, and the Shadow Hawk was forced to
slow. Picking its way between the trees, the Hawk was set upon by a Star
of Elementals. The battle-armoured infantry jumped in, firing their Lasers and
SRM's at the Shadow Hawk. The Mech responded by sending stream of RAC/5
rounds through one of the Elementals, effetely cutting it in half. Another died
when it was hit by both of the Medium Lasers. The Shadow Hawk was able
to grab one of the Elements in its huge battle-fists, and squeezed the life out
of the struggling figure.
All of
this was in vain though, as the last two Elementals where able to get onto the Shadow
Hawks back and rip-away the armour protecting the rector. A few well placed
laser blasts, and the containment-shield cut in, saving the Mech from a
catastrophic rector overload, but cutting power.
The
screen dimmed, and the simulator pod opened. Sinead took off the neural helmet,
and unplugged her cooling vest. As soon as she had removed her safety harness,
she climbed out of the command couch and onto the gantry outside.
Cairo
stood against the safety rail, a huge grin on his lips, "The doc says you
pass: you’re fit for duty again."
Sinead
ran at him, and he lifted her up in a tight embrace. She throw her head back
and screamed, "YES!"
"No
more getting yourself hurt though.” Cairo let her down onto the gantry and
kissed her, “I can't go through this again: you’re nasty when you’re not
allowed to pilot a Mech."
"Watch it mister. I may be your executive officer, but I'm also your wife.” Sinead kicked his shin, “Any more taunts like that and you're sleeping on the sofa!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cairo examined the
holo-tank in the centre of the briefing room: a 3D representation of the Inner
Sphere slowly rotated. A large part of the map was red, indicating worlds that
had fallen to the Word of Blake advance. Precenter Martail Davion stood before
the assembled officers; "Our main concern at the moment is the Word of
Blake push on the Lyran Capital, Tharkad." One of the worlds on the map
became highlighted in gold. "At the moment, Word of Blake is here, on
Whittington, but our intelligence leads us to believe that they are heading
here, Callisto-V. If they take that world, they will be able to strike at
Donegal and Tharkad."
The
hologram faded, and the lights came on. Archer Christifori walked to the centre
of the room, "Field Marshal Kell has assigned the defence of Callisto V to
me. I will land over a dozen regiments to Callisto, and prepare the defence of
the planet. The Precenter Martail has graciously agreed to send certain
ComsGuard units to help. Theses units will be the 117th Division and the
Solaris Irregulars. Captain Cairo, your unit are to be expanded to a battalion,
and you are being promoted to Major. Captain Cameron will command your second company,
while Clan Ghost Bear has offered to provide a Trinary to act as the third
company. I believe you know the Star Captain, one Jake Kabrinski?"
"We
met on Alshain." Cairo nodded.
Christifori
smiled, "Good, then you know the people under your command. You will keep
the DropShip Mary-Ellen Carter, as well as your Warship's: they would
follow you into the jaws of death after your recent adventures and I don't want
to break up the team. Your command will be the first to land on Callisto. I
need you to scout the main landing zone before the bulk of the forces arrive.
We have reports of Word of Blake cells causing trouble on worlds just before
they are hit, and I need you to keep them busy."
"As
you wish, Sir." Cairo nodded.
The
meeting broke-up, and Cairo walked back to barracks. The Irregulars quickly
came to attention. Cairo smiled, and called them to form a semicircle,
"Ok, listen up and listen good: the Solaris Irregulars are now officially
of battalion strength. Captain Cameron is building a company out of former Wolf
Dragoon warriors, and our friends the Ghost Bears are lending us a
Trinary." The room was filled with wolf-whistles and catcalls, but Cairo
clamed them down, "As you know, a Battalion is commanded by a Major, so
get used to me going up another rank. I'm still the same-old Steven Cairo you
all know and love, and you can still talk to me if and when you need. Sinead is
back as XO, so get used to her being back around. Get some rest: we ship-out
for the front in two days."
There was
the usual slaps on the back and congratulations about his promotion, but Cairo
was able to get to his room relatively quickly. He collapsed into a chair as
his wife walked-in.
"That
was a brave face your put on for them Steven, but you don't need to do it for me."
Sinead looked at him.
Cairo rested his head against the back of his chair and closed his eyes, "I don't want this promotion Sinead. I don't want to be responsible for all those extra lives."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Europe
planes
Callisto
V
Lyran
Alliance
Cairo turned his Orion to
give him a better view of the landing-zone: his new battalion was busy
unloading supplies from the DropShip Mary-Ellen Carter. The three new Mobile
Field Base vehicles that Clearwater had secured for him were moving off to the
abandoned quarry that was to serve as the Irregulars base of operations.
He
watched as Star Captain Jake Kabrinski moved his Trinary out across the
grassland, heading out on patrol. Sinead moved her SHD-5D Shadow Hawk up
next to his older Mech, "Hell of a sight Steven."
"It
is that Sinead, it is that.” Cairo nodded, “Any news on Word of Blake cells on
planet?"
"You
have a meeting in two hours with the commander of the local garrison forces.”
Sinead punched a few commands into her Mech's computer, “He should have the
report General Christifori requested."
The last
supply vehicles left the DropShip and Cairo moved his Orion's arm after
them, "Let's go."
Sinead
closed up behind and to the side of Cairo's Mech, and was the first to spot the
ATV's. She stopped her Mech to get a better view, "Steve, there are two
4X4's heading for the DropShip. They look like they're packing missile
launchers."
Cairo
groaned, "And I thought Wobblies where meant to be smart!" He changed
his radio to the frequency used by the DropShip, "Paul, you have two
missile-packing ATV's heading your way a high-speed, probable Word of Blake.
Deal with them."
The radio
crackled, "Rodger that Steve, we see them." Gun-turrets on the
side of the massive Overlord class DropShip turned to face the charging
vehicles: PPC blasts and missile filled the air between the DropShip and the
ATV's, lifting one of the light- vehicles into the air on a pillar of flame.
The second raider managed to avoid the defensive weapons, and fire a missile at
the DropShip.
The Mary-Ellen
Carter disappeared in a blinding flash of light.
Cairo
felt his Mech being lifted off the ground and thrown across the ground. The old
Orion landed heavily on it's back, crushing several small trees. Cairo blinked
several times, trying to get the afterimage of the blast from his eyes. He
stopped once he realized what had happened: the one missile had destroyed the
DropShip.
"NUKES!"
he screamed into his radio, "The Wobbly bastards used a Nuke!" The
radio filled with chatter as lance commanders started taking roll calls to see
who was missing. Cairo managed to raise him Mech to a sitting position. He
looked back across the landing field: the skeletal remains of the DropShip were
just visible through the smoke and flames. His voice broke, "Paul!"
Sinead's
battered Shadow Hawk limed up next to his Orion, her taut voice
filling his ears, "We better get out of here. There's no telling if they
have any more of those around, and we have to warn the General."
Without answering, Cairo raised his Mech to its feet and followed his wife from the landing field.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Callisto
V
Cairo ran
to the command vehicle that contained the surface-to-space communication
system. The Tech at the controls flipped a few switches, "Connection's
made Sir."
Cairo
nodded as he grabbed the radio handset, trying to remember the code-words,
"Stonewall, this is Traveller: party is compromised. Repeat: the party is
compromised. Word of Blake forces have destroyed our wheels with fireworks. I
repeat: Word of Blake forces have used fireworks. Traveller is stranded."
Cairo sat
in silence and counted off the minuets it took for his message to reach the
Task Force, and the time it took for General Christifori to respond. The radio
crackled into life, "Traveller, this is Stonewall: party is still on
for your location. Secure the house and prepare to receive guest."
It took
Cairo time to decipher the message, "Negative Stonewall, the party is off,
repeat, off. Gatecrashers have ruined the vibe. Scatter before the cops
arrive."
Long
minuets passed, but Christifori's reply finally came through, "Attention
Traveller, this is Stonewall: party is officially bust. Unable to pick you up
before cops arrive; keep low and good luck. Stonewall out."
Cairo
dropped the radio mike. He turned to the Tech manning the communication array,
"Turn it off. We can't risk the Wobblies triangulating our position."
Cairo
almost walked straight into Star Captain Jake Kabrinski and Jack Cameron. He
turned to his two company commanders, "Christifori's pulled the plug. He's
not willing to risk another DropShip at this time, and I can't say I blame him.
Organise your forces as best you can: we are going to be here for a
while." His two subordinates nodded and walked off. Cairo turned to
Sinead, "It's not good: we're on our own on a world that Word of Blake is
about to role right over this planet. We are so screwed it isn’t even
funny."
Sinead
put her arms around her husband's neck, offering him comfort and strength,
"You’ll come up with a plan: it’s what you do, what you always do."
"I’d
surrender in a heart-beat right now if I thought for a second that the Wobblies
wouldn't just vaporize us."
"You’re
better than they are: you care about the people under your command. That's what
makes you a good officer and an even better human being. You have reserves of
strength that you've never tapped."
"I wish I could believe you."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cairo stood before his assembled command in a cave that made up part of the quarry, "As you are all aware by now, we have been cut off and stranded here on Callisto V. After Word of Blake destroyed our DropShip, General Christifori had no choice but the pull back the rest of the Task Force. They are unable to send another DropShip to pick us up."
"I now have to inform you that we have received a communication from the Task Force, warning us that at lest two regiments of Word of Blake Mech's are inbound at this time. We will be out-numbered at lest six to one. There is no way we could defeat them in an open battle, so we won't try. What we are going to do is this: we are going to make life on Callisto V so difficult for them that they ether pull out, or are in no fit state to fight when General Christifori comes back." That statement was greeted with a cheer from the Irregulars.
Cairo began to pace backwards and forwards, "It's going to be tough, and it's going to be dangerous, but if you wanted a safe life, you'd never have joined the military. I want you all to get settled-in here: there are barracks to sort out, repair facilities to assemble, and defences to set-up. Report to your Lance commanders for assignments." He stopped in the centre of the cavern, "I know a lot of you must be wondering why we just don't surrender to the Wobblies. Well, let me remind you of one thing: Word of Blake used a tactical nuclear weapon to destroy our DropShip. Had we still been on board, we would have all been killed. They have no problem with using drugs and torture to get information from prisoners, and if any of you are captured or surrender, it could kill us all." He took a deep breath, "I am not saying you should kill yourself rather than be taken prisoner, but I have experienced firsthand Word of Blake hospitality, and I will gladly die before I go through that again. Dismissed."
Suddenly sombre after Cairo's last words, the Irregulars broke into small groups to discuss what he had said.
Sinead found Cairo in an abandoned sight office that he had taken over as his command centre, "Do you really mean what you said about not being taken prisoner again?"
"After what almost happened on Whittington, yes.” Cairo nodded, “You where unconscious for most of it, but I remember every moment of it: the VTOL crash, Hendrix's threat to kill you if I didn't give him the weapons he wanted, the gun fight when the other rescued us, all of it."
Sinead hugged her husband tight, "I can't imagine what it must have been like for you, especially after all you had already been through. Just promise me one thing: no missions you know you wont come back from: Death in combat I might be able to accept, but your going out just to die I could not."
"I promise."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Callisto V
Lyran Alliance
Cairo watched as the
company of Word of Blake Mech made their way across the open grassland, and
approached the tree line where two of his companies were hidden, their Mech's
powered down. His eyes alternated between the view from his cockpit window and
his laser-rangefinder.
When the
first Mech reached 100-meters, he fired his ATM-launcher at it.
The high
explosive rounds struck the ANV-3M Anvil dead centre, ripping armor
plates apart. This was also the signal for the other Mechs to open fire: a wall
of destruction shot forth from the tree line and decimated the W.o.B Mech's.
Soon, the entire enemy formation was destroyed.
Cairo
surveyed the scene, then opened a com-channel to Star Captain Jake Kabrinski,
"That was way to easy: we have used the same trick twice before, and yet
they walked right into it."
"Aff
Major,” Kabrinski seemed uneasy, “it does not make any sense for them to repeat
the same mistake for a third time."
Cairo was
about to respond when the air was filled with the high- pitched wine of
incoming artillery rounds. The shells exploded less than 10-meters of the
Irregulars.
Cairo hit
the Battalion-wide channel, "SCATER!" The Mechs shot-off by Lances,
heading to different rendezvous points. Cairo stood his Orion at the
start of a dirt track and counted-off the Mechs of his command Lance: Sinead's Shadow
Hawk, MechWarrior Josh's Timber Wolf and Hawk-that-Settles' Avatar.
He took one last look around to make sure that the rest of the Mech's where
clear, and followed on behind the others.
The
shelling continued, slowly moving across the plains, following the line of
retreat. Cairo gritted his teeth as rounds started to fall around his slower
Mech. The road before him erupted in a geyser of dirt and smoke. His Orion
stumbled in the shell-hole, almost falling, but he was able to keep it upright.
"This
is bad Steve, really bad." Sinead's voice came over their private link.
"Yes,”
Cairo's eyes narrowed, “but it proves a theory of mine."
"What
theory?"
"We have a traitor in our midst."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cairo watched the other
three Mech's of his command lance slowly make their way along the forest track
to the rendezvous point, his head still spinning, trying to work out who the
traitor was. He made a mental list of the people he new he could trust. Sinead
and McCoy were beyond reproach, he added Rob Dancer, Rebecca, Rix's point and
Scot and Janet, his two aerospace pilots to the list: all had been with him
since before he had come to the attention of Word of Blake.
He added the other
Clanners and Jack Cameron to the list: despite his personal feelings towards
the man, Cairo new he would never work for W.o.B.
He was
still contemplating this when his threat-detector started bleeping: he had been
targeted! His eyes scanned his passive-sensors for any sign of the enemy.
There: two reactor-signatures where showing up on his MAD, and they were big
ones.
He opened
a com-link to the rest of his lance and spoke quietly to try and mask the
signal, "Don't react right away, but it looks like we've got two
Assault-Mechs stalking us. One of them has locked onto me with its Artemis IV.
Stay calm, but be ready for a fight…"
No sooner
were the words out of his mouth then there was in ear splitting roar as twenty
LRM's hit his Orion across the chest.
He
reacted instantly: selecting high-explosive rounds, he sent a spread of
missiles from his ATM-9 back down the track of the incoming fire. There was a
high-pitched whine as Sinead brought her RAC on line, followed by a low roar as
it fired off a stream of rounds. Lasers shot-fourth from Hawk-that-Settles' Avatar
and Josh's Timber Wolf, igniting foliage as they burned they way to the
targets.
Cairo
switched his sensor to active, and his jaw dropped: the two enemy Mech's where
an Atlas and a Templar, and according to the intelligence data he
had been given, there was only one Templar on Callisto V.
He gritted his teeth and
fired his Large Heavy Laser at the OmniMech, cutting a nasty scar across its
left arm and torso. The Mech responded with a Gauss Rifle round that smashed
Cairo's medium laser. He quickly opened up with his LB 10-X, sending a stream
of cluster rounds at the Assault-Mech, doing minimal damage. The Templar fired
its Large and Medium Pulse Lasers and Cairo, knocking his Orion from its feet.
Dazed,
Cairo looked up to see the Templar lower it's Gauss Rifle to face his
cockpit at point-blank range.
"Any
last words, Sir?" A mocking voice filled his ears.
Cairo
looked up at the barrel of the Gauss Rifle and smiled, "Nothing in
particular Carpenter: I'm just wondering when my darling wife's going to get
her finger out and fire."
The air
was filled with the sudden roar as Seined fired her RAC point-blank into the
back of the Assault-Omni. The Templar shudder as the stream of rounds
hit it, and Cairo fired his ATM- launcher, sending a flight of HE-missiles
upwards.
The Templar
fell to the ground as Cairo slowly got his Orion to its feet. He
carefully aimed his Heavy Laser at the OmniMech's cockpit, "Surrender or
Die!"
"What's
the point, your just kill me in any case." Carpenter's voice came back
over the link.
"Surrender
and I give you my word that no-one under my command will hurt you in
anyway." His sensors showed that the Templar's reactor was shutting
down.
"Very
well, I surrender to you." Carpenter sounded dejected.
The W.o.B
Atlas hit the ground with a thump as the rest of Rob Dancer's
Assault-Lance appeared, followed closely by the Scout-Lance. Cairo smiled,
"Rix, take Sgt. Carpenter prisoner, and see if the pilot of that Atlas
is still alive. Rob, secure the perimeter. Rebecca, take your Mechs and head
back to base; tell Cameron to move to the alternate location, and get McCoy
back here with the prime movers. If we can salvage these two Mech we will, if
not, we blast them to pieces." His commands where met with his unit's
normal efficiency.
He was
just beginning to relax when his com-system bleeped, telling him he had an
incoming message from Sinead. Sighing, he turned the radio on, "Yes, oh
light of my life?"
"'Going
to get her finger out and fire' that's what you said, wasn't it." Seined
sounded less than impressed.
"True,
but you had been standing behind her for about 15-seconds and you were yet to
fire."
"I
just wounded what your last words were going to be. You're lucky as hell that
she didn't just shoot you out of hand."
"I've
found that people like her have a need to gloat before they kill you. It's a
character trait that can often lead to trouble: an honest person would have
just fired."
"So you were saved by Carpenters need to gloat before she killed you? Don't rely on that in future Steven: there are plenty of 'honest' people in Word of Blake."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Callisto V
Lyran Alliance
Carpenter was handcuffed
to a chair in the basement of the abandoned Castles Brian. Next to her sat
Precentor James Van-Peters, the Word of Blake MechWarrior who's Atlas had tried
to assist her in killing Steven Cairo.
Cairo walked in and sat on a chair opposite them, "Well now, who wants to tell me what I want to know, and who wants pain?"
"You
gave me your word that no harm would come to me if I surrendered!"
Carpenter looked him hard in the eye.
"No,
I said that no-one under my command would hurt you, I never said anything about
hurting you myself!" To prove his point, Cairo drew his pistol and slowly
screwed a silencer onto the end. He pointed the gun at the floor and looked at
his two prisoners, "Anything to say?"
"I
would rather die than tell you anything!" Van-Peters spat at Cairo,
hitting him on the arm.
"Anyone
can be brave when facing certain death, but there are worse things than dying.”
Cairo smiled, wiping the spit from his sleeve, “Trust me, I know." He
pointed the pistol at the Precentor's leg and fired.
The 9mm
round shattered the man kneecap, making him cry out with agony.
"You're
insane!" Carpenters eyes went wide.
"According
to my last psych-evaluation, yes." Cairo smiled wildly as he pointed the
gun at Carpenters knee, "You want to talk, or shall I tell the doc to get
two plastic kneecaps ready?"
"I'll
talk!" Carpenters eyes where wide with fear.
"Good."
Cairo smiled, putting the gun back in its holster, then opened the door, allowing
two medics to enter, "Of course, it's not me who'll be asking the
questions. I'm sure that Loki has people back on Tharkad who know what to ask,
and how to encourage you."
Carpenter
was completely confused, "How do you intend to get us to Tharkad?" Cairo
smiled, "That's a surprise."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cairo
managed to get back to his quarters before he regurgitated his last two meals.
Sinead
handed him a towel once he had finished, "You know, a few years back, this
would not have fazed you, but now it makes you physically sick."
Cairo
nodded, washing his mouth out thoroughly, "Well, I'm not the same person I
was back then." He took his wife in his arms, "At lest, not when I'm
around you: I went a little crazy when you where in hospital back on Tukayyid.
I didn't like what I became."
"That's
because you're not like that anymore, and that's why I married you."
Sinead smiled.
Cairo kissed her, "So it had nothing to do with you being pregnant at the time?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cairo watched as the
techs got the two Sulla OmniFighters ready. His attention turned to Scot and
Janet, his two former Clan Wolf Aerospace pilots, "Ok, now remember this:
Carpenter told the Wobblies everything, but I do not think they will be
expecting this. Just get out of the atmosphere and split up. The Spirit Sight
should be at the pirate-point as planed, but if she is not, you will have to
head back. If that happens, send the coded signal, then bail out: I would rather
lose the fighters then have the two of you captured or killed."
He
stopped talking as brought out the two prisoners. He smiled at Carpenter,
"Give my regards to Loki when you get to Tharkad." He turned back to
the two pilots, "If they give you any trouble at all, and I mean anything,
you have my permission to kill them. Any questions?" The two pilots shook
their heads. Cairo smiled, "Good luck."
Cairo
watched as the two OmniFighters rocketed along the old runway and into the air,
keeping low to avoid radar. McCoy shook his head, "You sure that this is
the best thing to do?"
Cairo
shrugged, "No, but I can't interrogate them myself, and if they stay here,
I can't guaranty their safety." He chuckled, "I'd probably end up
shooting them myself. They have useful information, and from what I've read,
Loki is the organization to get it from them. Anyway, what's the point of
getting the information out of them if we're the only ones to know?" He
shook his head, "It's better that the information they have is learned by
the wider universe than just this small base."
The two
Clan fighters made their way along a series of valleys before raising their
noses for a high-G burn to orbit. Both pilots and unwilling passengers felt
themselves being pushed into their seats as the fighters clawed their way up at
maximum climb. A passing flight of SHV-O Shiva OmniFighters tried to
intercept them, but the faster Clan-built craft soon left them far behind. More
fighters tried to stop them, but the genetically engineered Clan pilots where
able to easily out-fly the Word of Blake pilots, and soon controlled the skies
over Callisto V.
As instructed, the two fighters split-up and made their own way to the waiting Spirit Sight. They docked less than an hour apart, and soon the Clan WarShip was ready to make the jump to Tharkad as ordered. With a blinding flash, the Corvette disappeared into hyperspace, cutting the Irregulars off completely.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Io
city
Callisto
V
Lyran Alliance
Cairo felt his guts
wrench as the bullets hit Kerry Slone in the stomach, knocking her over
backwards. He lifted his TK Assault-rifle and sent a burst of 1-mm rounds back
at the Word of Blake guards, cutting them down.
It had
been a simple plan: while the other two companies where off on diversionary
raids, his forces would launch a commando raid on a Word of Blake outpost
manned only by infantry. In order to get close to the buildings, it had been
necessary to leave their Mech's back at the field- base, and proceed by way of
ground cars.
Things
had gone bad when someone had tripped an alarm, rousing the guards and
activating the spotlights. What was meant to have been a meticulously planned
raid dissolved into a mad firefight with both sides trying to lay down as much
fire as they could in the tight confines. Both side seemed to be winning, and
it was quickly becoming a battle of attrition.
Cairo ran
across to where Slone lay, and dragged her back behind the cover of a low wall.
She was still alive, but from the amount of blood she had lost, it was only a
matter of time before she passed the point of no-retune. Cairo quickly grabbed
his medi-pack and placed bandages over the entry and exit wounds. He gave her a
shot of morphine, and tried to keep her stable.
He poked
his head over the wall and saw that things were at a stalemate. He sighed:
there was only one thing left to do. He drew a flair-gun from his belt and
fired it up into the night sky. The red shell cast strange shadows over the
battlefield, and black-dressed figures started to brake-off from the fight and
disappear into the darkness beyond. Gently lifting Slone over his shoulder,
Cairo began to make his way out of the base, keeping to the shadows, and
sprinting across patches of light.
The sound
of gunfire slowly died down as Cairo got further and further away from the
outpost, until all he could hear was Slone's breathing and the sound of his
feet rustling the short grass. He made his way to the rendezvous point, but all
of the ground cars were gone. He scanned the surrounding area with his
night-vision goggles: there was a farmhouse less than a kilometre away and by
the looks of it no one was home.
Re-settling Salon's unconscious body on his shoulder, Cairo began the trek to the promised safety of the farmhouse, the sun beginning to rise in the East.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The
farmhouse was indeed deserted, and by the looks of it, it had been ransacked
for anything of value. Cairo remembered one of the briefings they had been given
about Work of Blake, and about how they often recruited from pirate bands to
fill out the ranks of their foot soldiers.
He
managed to find a bed in an upstairs room where he could change Slone's
bandages: most of the bleeding appeared to have stopped, but there was still
the question of the amount of blood she had lost, and the damage done of the
bullets as they passed through. He checked her vitals, and she seemed to be
stable, so he decided to have a look round the house to see what he could find.
What ever
had happened here, it had happened in a hurry: personal possessions were strewn
across every room in no discernable order. He managed to find a shirt and pair
of denim trousers to replace his blood-soaked combat gear. He found a few extra
shirts he could use as bandages for Slone if needed.
Slone was
awake when he went to check on her, "How do you feel?"
"Kind
of tingly." she smiled slightly.
"That's
the morphine I gave you: you'll feel great for now, but as soon as it wears
off, the pain is really going to hit."
"How
bad is it?"
"I
don't know, but it doesn't look good: you lost a lot of blood, and took at lest
4-rounds through your guts."
Despite
the effects of the morphine, Slone's mind seamed to work fine: "There
should be some blood-expander packs in our med kits, but you're have to be
careful how you use them: too much and I could start bleeding again."
"I
think I can remember something about that from my training."
Cairo sat
on a chair next to the bed as he went through the equipment; “There's something
I've been wanting to ask you ever since you sighed up back on Solaris.”
"Well,
I'm not going anywhere right now: ask away."
"You
seemed more eager than anyone else to sign up, why?"
"Well,
they say confession is good for the soul: My mother was from the Free Worlds
League, and my older brother joined the FWL military when he was 18; He's a
Knight of the Inner Sphere. At first I was really proud of him, of the fact
that he was considered good enough to join such an elite unit. But then he
seemed to change: His letters has always been very open, but he started
becoming more and more guarded about where he was and what he was doing. At
first I put it down to typical military security, but then all of this
started."
"All
off suddenly, everything that had happen made sense: my brother was working for
Word of Blake. I couldn't believe it at first, but then I got a letter from
him, telling me to get off of Solaris ASAP. I figured out that he must have had
something to do with what was happening, so I signed up with you in an attempt
to atone for what he had done."
"You've nothing to atone for: he made his own decisions, and nothing you can do now can change that. But, you are one hell of a Mech-jockey, and I'm glad that you did sign up.” Cairo stood, “Now, I'm going to go see if I can find us a way out of here before it gets too light outside."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Callisto
V
Lyran Alliance
Cairo
managed to get an old pickup truck working, and drove Slone back to the field
base. The Doctors took her away for proper treatment, and Cairo found himself
facing a glum looking Jack Cameron, “We got a problem.”
The command post was a
hive of activity, and Cairo found his command staff clustered around a TV
monitor. McCoy nodded when he saw Cairo, and pressed the replay button.
The image
that appeared on the screen was that of a greying man in a Word of Blake
uniform. He smiled at the camera; “This is a wide-band broadcast for Major
Steven Cairo of the so-called Solaris Irregulars: If you do not
surrender yourself to us by midnight tonight, we will detonate a nuclear device
in a city chosen at random. We will do the same every day that passes until you
comply.” The man's eyes narrowed, “Be under no misconception: I will order the
detonation if you don't comply.” The screen went blank.
McCoy
looked at Cairo, “That's been repeating every 15-minuets since 5 A.M.”
Cairo
just nodded before turning to leave.
Seined
grabbed him by the arm, “Where are you going?”
“To hand
myself in.”
“The hell
you are!”
Cairo
looked past her, "Rix." The Elemental nodded solemnly, and placed his
hands on Seined’s shoulders holding her back as Cairo walked from the command
vehicle. He posed at the door, “The Irregulars are yours Cameron: Look after
them for me.”
“I will.”
The former Wolfs Dragoons officer nodded.
Cairo
found the old pickup where he had parked it earlier and got in. Some of the
tech's watched him as he drove off: word of the ultimatum had obviously spread.
He put the truck into top gear and tried his best not to think about what he
had done: he had told Seined that he would rather die than be captured by Word
of Blake again, but here he was, surrendering to them.
The drive
to Callisto City took most of the day, with a short stop-off while Cairo
prepared a little something for the mysteries grey-haired man from the TV. He
had thought long and hard about how best to give himself up, but in the end
decided to keep it simple.
He
stopped the truck outside the HPG station and calmly walked up the steps to the
front door. He stood before the receptionist, “Hello, my name is Steven Cairo.
I believe your commander is looking for me.”
The
receptionist stood there for a moment, jaw gapping open. He finally managed to
pick up a phone, “Sir, this is a man here who says you want to see him.” The
was a garbled reply, and the receptionist nodded, “Yes sir, but he says his
name is Steven Cairo.”
There was
the sound of running feet in a nearby corridor, and Cairo smiled as the man
from the TV rounded to corner, gun in hand.
Cairo's
coat dropped open to reveal 4-blocks of C4 plastic explosive. A remote
detonator appeared in his hand, and he smiled at the two shocked Word of Blake
men, “Ether of you two know physics? No? Well, one interesting thing about
physics is this: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. That can be
translated into: push some people too far and they will decide they have
nothing left to loss if they push right back at you.”
Seemingly
without a care in the world, Cairo sat on the receptionist's desk, “Now, over
the last 3 to 4 years, I've had to put up with a lot of shit from you people:
You shot down the V.T.O.L I was flying, you threatened my girlfriend, you
gate-crashed my wedding, placed an assassin in my unit, tried to kill my wife
and I with an SRM-launcher, killed my best friend with a tactical-nuke and now
you threaten to blow up a city if I don't surrender.” He smiled at the senior
W.o.B agent, “Well, I for one have reached the breaking point: I can't put up
with this shit any longer.” He calmly pressed the button on the detonator.
The truck
parked outside exploded in a fireball that lifted it 20-meters into the air.
The doors of the HPG station blew inwards, covering everyone with glass and
dust. Cairo leaped from the desk, his kukri drawn from it's hiding place in the
small of his back. The heavy curved blade cut through the air and ripped the
Word of Blake commander's neck in two in one flowed movement.
Cairo
spun around, the kukri stopping just millimetres from the receptionist's
jugular, “Now, you tell your boss's replacement that if they try to use the
people of Callisto V against me like that again, he'll end up like his
predecessor there. If needs be I'll kill every one of you fruit loops
one-by-one. Now scat.”
Cairo
smiled as the man disappeared off along a corridor: it had all gone better than
planed. The only thing he had to do was get away and find out where Cameron had
moved the Irregulars to this time.
The
street was a scene of absolute chaos: people where running backwards and
forwards, screaming at the top of their voices. Sirens could be heard in the
distance, and the burning remains of the pickup truck cover a considerable
area. Cairo smiled as he made his way along the side streets to where he had
parked a second car.
He didn't see the gloved fist until it was too late: his world went dark.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Europe
planes
Callisto
V
Lyran
Alliance
There are
many ways to be woken up, and having a glass of water thrown over you is not
that bad compared to some of them. Cairo looked up and groaned, "You're
pissed at me, I can tell."
“That
would be putting it mildly to say the lest Steven.” Sinead looked down at him,
“You promised me that you wouldn't go on any suicide-mission's, yet you walked
right into that HPG alone."
"If
it had been a suicide-mission, we'd not be having this conversation."
"That's
not the point Steven, and you damn well know it! Did it ever occur to you that
there are people who rely on you?
Cairo
looked at his wife, confused by her body language, "Is there something
you're not telling me?"
Sinead
looked at the floor, "I'm pregnant again Steven."
"Crap!”
Cairo buried is face in his hands, “You're pregnant and I go do a stupid thing
like that to you!" He looked up, "I'd never have done what I did if
I'd know: I would have done something, but not like that. I just couldn't let
innocent people suffer because of me."
"I
understand that,” Sinead nodded, “but it felt like you had abandon me. I managed
to talk the others into a rescue attempt, thinking that you'd be in a cell, but
by the time we got into position, you'd already detonated the bomb."
"True:
it was the only way I could get close enough to do anything. What happened with
the nuke?"
"They
didn't set it off, and they've been very quiet since. I think you scared
them."
"Well,
I've had enough of their mind-games: from now on, the gloves are off. Where are
we by the way? Standing orders called for us to move the base if someone was
captured."
"We're
holed-up for the night, but we should reach the next rally point by tomorrow
afternoon." Cairo nodded, rubbing his jaw, "Ok, good. One question:
who hit me?"
"Sorry
about that,” Sinead smiled, “but I was upset at the time…"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cairo
strapped himself into the command couch of his Orion. It felt good to be
back into his Mech after so long. The day's planed march took them along a
shallow riverbed, with tall tress on ether side that would hopefully keep them
safe from recon-satellites used by the Wobblies. He searched the radio bands
for some music to listen to, but all long-range wavelengths were being jammed.
He
thought on this for a moment: why would the Wobblies jam all long-range
communications? It made no sense. He was about to as the others what they
thought when his long-range scanner started picking-up contacts ahead and to
each side of them.
The
numbers grew until they reached a total of 108: a full regiment of Mech's,
3-times his own command.
He
checked the I.F.F., just to make sure: Word of Blake.
He let out the breath he had been holding: the battle for Callisto-V would end here and now.
The Irregulars stopped
dead in their tracks.
Cairo
took a moment to way up the options: He couldn't order a retreat, as there was
nowhere to go. Surrender was out of the question, as he had caused enough
trouble to warrant the death sentence as far as Word of Blake was concerned. He
took a deep breath then slowly let it out: This was not his decision to make.
He
switched his radio to the company-wide channel, "I will not lie to you: I
do not believe we can escape or win out. But I for one plan to leave this life
the way I came in: kicking and screaming. If any of you want to try and make a
run for it, then by all means do so. I've told you before that I will never
surrender to Word of Blake, but if any of you feel that you would be better off
if you did, then by all means do so. I will not order any of you to fight. You
have proven your dedication many times, and I consider it an honour and a
privilege to have served with you. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go pick
a fight."
Cairo
griped the Orion's controls firmly and pushed the throttle forwards,
setting the old Mech off at optimum speed. He brought his Active Probe online,
and slaved it to the Targeting Computer. He powered up his lasers, and loaded
his ATM launcher and LBX Autocannon. He glanced at his sensors and saw that the
rest of the Irregulars had formed up on ether side of him. He sighed slightly:
he had hoped that some of the lighter Mech's would have made a run for it, or
hung-back to protect the Mobile Field Bases. He did see that most of the
Elementals had stayed behind: only Rix's and Jake Kabrinski's points where with
the main force.
"Go
on: ask." Seined’s voice came over the radio.
"Will it make any difference if I do?"
"No,
but you have to try."
"Stay
out of this fight."
The
shadow of the SHD-5D Shadow Hawk his wife piloted covered his view port,
"I told you before Steven: I'm in this for the long-run."
"I
had to ask." Cairo smiled sadly.
"I
know." Seined sounded equally sad.
The first
volley of LRM's from the Word of Blake line started to fall amongst the
Irregulars, sending up geysers of dirt and flame. Several impacted against
Cairo's Mech, denting the Clan-made Ferro-Fibrous armour. He brought up the
nearest Wobbly Mech and let loos with a flight ER-ATM rounds, scoring with 5
but missing with the other 4. He slammed the targeting interface with his left
fist, and the system reset itself to optimal.
A second
flight of missiles struck the enemy Mech hard, every one of them hitting. The
ageing Orion shuddered as a gauss round ploughed into the upper right
torso, shattering the shoulder joint and dropping the arm to the ground. Cairo
smiled as he backtracked the round and targeted a W.o.B Hollander with
his ATM and sent a spread of High Explosive missiles its way.
A second gauss round from
the Hollander slammed into Cairo's Orion as he closed the gap, and the weapons
control system reported that the right- torso mounted LB 10-X Autocannon was
off-line, probably destroyed. Cairo swore under his breath: Half of his weapons
where disabled. He dumped the spare LBX rounds and the remaining ER rounds for
the ATM system.
While the
lighter Mech reloaded its only weapon, Cairo closed the gap between the two of
them and targeted a flight of HE-rounds at the Hollander. He fired the missiles
and watched as the W.o.B Mech staggered under the impact. He lined up his Large
Heavy Laser with the other Mech's cockpit and pulled the trigger. The Hollander's
armour lasted less than a second under the hellish onslaught and the
high-energy beam burned all the way through and out the back, effectively
decapitating the Mech.
Cairo
took a deep breath as the temperature in his cockpit rose another ten degrees
and the remaining heat sinks struggled to compensate. He clanked at his
tactical display and was greeted with grim news: The Irregulars had become
entangled on the enemy lines and the battalions to the left and right had swung
round to encircle them. Over a dozen Irregular Mech's where down, most of them
out of the fight for good.
Despite
the death and destruction raging around him, Cairo was calm: Ever since that
night 8 years ago on Los Alamos he had waited for death, for the final release
from the pain that he had carried with him ever since. Now he saw his death
before him and he decided to grab it with both hands and go down fighting. He
did have some regrets, but like the old song said, too few to mention. There
was only one thing that kept him from simply giving up and letting the end
come.
Gripping
the controls tighter than ever, Cairo swung his Orion round and headed
over to where Seined was duelling with an old style Rifleman. He sent a
flight of missiles into the famously thin rear armour of the air-defence Mech
and was rewarded by a series of flashes that told him there had been an
internal ammo explosion. He stood between the Shadow Hawk and the bulk
of the Word of Blake Mech's, trying to shield his wife from the worst of the
fighting. He could see that almost half of the Irregulars were down, and the
Wobblies where getting boulder in their attacks.
Suddenly
there was a blinding white flash and a W.o.B Atlas disintegrated before
Cairo's eyes. He blinked, and a second flash of light cut a four-legged Goliath
in two. There was an ear-splitting roar as a pair of aerospace fighters flew
past, strafing the Word of Blake line.
He heard
Seined’s voice over a static filled come-line, "Steven, there's a
Overlord class DropShip inbound, and the IFF is reading it as ComStar!"
Cairo hit the
battalion-wide channel on the radio, "Irregulars, fall back to the
DropShip: we're getting out of here!" He bellowed as the fighters came
round again, cutting down several light Mech's. The M.F.B's started to make
their way to the now landed DropShip, and the surviving Irregulars did the
same. He saw several high-speed ground-cars dart around, picking up down pilots
and injured Elementals.
The
battle raged on, and Cairo's sensors told him that only 20 of his Mech's were
still operational: if they didn't get under the protection of the DropShip's
guns, they would be lost. Another beam of light shot down through the clouds
and ripped into the Word of Blake lines, smashing Mech's apart. Cairo smiled as
the other shoe dropped: there were Warships in orbit, training their capital
lasers at the ground in an attempt to aid their escape.
The
M.F.B's made their way up the cargo ramp and into the waiting DropShip,
followed closely by the rest of the support vehicles. The ring around of
defending Mech's grew smaller as the few surviving light-Mech's also made their
way up the ramp. Cairo was worried when he didn't see Rebecca's Goshawk,
but he suddenly had more to worry about: A Word of Blake FNR-5 Fafnir
Assault-Mech lumbered forward, the capacitors coils for its twin Heavy Gauss
Rifles glowing blue.
Cairo
brought his Heavy Laser up and around, and his quick reflexes spoiled the other
pilot’s aim: the two huge metal spheres missed their intended target and buried
themselves in the ground beneath the DropShip. The huge Mech turned its
attention to the old Orion, it's Medium Pulse Laser sending a series of
emerald bolts along the lighter Mech's torso, digging into the damage done by
other Mech's.
The
capacitors flared again, and a second pair of gauss-slugs rocketed out of the Fafnir,
one striking Cairo's already damaged right torso, smashing the LB 10-X
Autocannon beyond all recognition, the other just missing. The Orion
shook as the gauss-round ricocheted around its innards, snapping internal
supports and smashing components. Cairo jettisoned the last of his ATM rounds
just moments before the slug came to rest in the magazine.
Reacting
slowly as the heat from the damaged reactor overwhelmed the remaining heat
sinks, Cairo brought his Heavy Laser up and round, and at point-blank range,
fired it down the barrel of the Fafnir right Heavy Gauss Rifle. The
high-capacity magnets melted under the hellish beam, discharging their stored electrical
energy into the Assault Mech. The other capacitor overloaded and sorted out,
blasting the entire torso away.
The Mech
went down
Cairo had no time to
celebrate his victory: the use of such a heat-intensive weapon when most of his
heat sinks had been destroyed, added to the damage to his reactor-housing, send
the old Vlar 300 engine into overload.
"Warning:
critical reactor damage! Warning: critical reactor damage!" The
computer screamed warnings at Cairo as the safety system failed. He reached down
between his legs and pulled the red handle that activated the ejector seat
mechanism, and ducked his head down as the cockpit roof blow clear away.
He felt his spine compress as the rockets fired, and his world went dark as the command-couch was blown clear of the doomed Mech with just seconds to spare.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Outbound
Callisto
V
Lyran
Alliance
It is
said that the main purpose of pain is to let you know you're still alive.
Cairo
couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing: his entire left side
was on fire, and his head felt like it was two sizes too small. Every time he
breathed, fresh gouts of pain shout across his chest. He slowly opened his
eyes, not sure of what view would great him.
“So you've
decided to rejoin us then?" Smiled McCoy as he looked down on his
commanding officer.
"What
happened?" Cairo groaned.
"You
caught the side of the canopy when you ejected: busted up you arm, leg and ribs
real bad. Doc says you’ll heal, but it will take time."
"How
long have I been out?"
"Two
days: Sinead was here for most of that, but the Doc finally convinced her to
get some rest. And before you ask, both her and the baby are fine."
"How
are the others?"
"It's
not good lad: we lost over half our Mech's and Elementals.” McCoy shock his
head, “Apart from you, your lance lost Josh and Hawk-that-settles, both killed.
Rix lost three of his Elementals, and the rest of the Scout lance have injures:
Rebecca came or worst with a fractured hip and a punched lung. The Assault
lance got through with just damage to their Mech's, and Rob's in with Rebecca
now. Get this: he asked her to marry him and she said yes! Can you believe
it?"
"I'm
happy for them.” Cairo smiled, “What of the others?"
"Cameron's
company came of slightly better then yours: only two dead, both from the scout
lance, but his Mech's are badly beaten up. We'll probably have to scrap most of
them. Kabrinski's came off best: none killed, but several of them where hurt
badly. A few may never pilot a Mech again." McCoy's tone was justifiably
grave: to any MechWarrior, the possibility of never being able to pilot a Mech
again was a crushing blow, but to the Clans, it was worse than a death
sentence.
Cairo
nodded, "So where are we headed?"
"Tharkad
first of all: the Archon wants to pin medals on our chest and parade us around
to the media. Then on to Tukayyid, where his brother will no-doubt do the same.
Who would have though that we would end up like this huh?”
"True,
but not all of us are here to see it."
"True,
True. I'll go tell Sinead your up." The old Tech headed for the door,
"Oh, and there is one bit of good news for a change: Some inmates as a
Wobblies re-education centre on Kittery busted out and have managed to re-take
the planet. High-commands is going nuts over this, and have sent an envoy to
talk to the leader, some bloke named Devlin Stone…"