The Ballard of Cairo
Part twenty-two: Into the belly of the beast.

DropShip Wataru
Inbound, Constance
Clan Ghost Bear Domain

Cairo sat in the small captain's office and read the info O'Brien and Dancer had given him on Clan Ghost Bear. Until entering the Inner Sphere he'd only read about the Clans, but now he was heading deep into the territory of one of, if not the, most powerful Clans. He re-read the same page a second time before finally giving up. He keyed the intercom, "Go-cho Dancer, please report to the captain's office". He got himself a cup of tea while he waited for the Combine warrior to arrive.

There was a knock on the hatch and Cairo turned. "Enter".

Dancer floated through that hatch and sat down. "How can I help you, Lieutenant?"

Cairo handed him the file he had been reading, "What can you tell me about the Ghost Bears?"

Dancer looked at the file and leafed through the first few pages, "Not a lot more than this file. Most of my experience with them has been by way of incoming fire. I've talked to a few bondsmen, but they tend to be a bit reticent talking about their former Clan. What I do know is that they are what the Clans call Wardens".

Cairo was confused, "Wardens?"

"Let me put it this way: there are two types of Clans - Wardens and Crusaders. Wardens feel they should protect and defend the Inner Sphere from outside forces, while Crusaders feel it is their duty and destiny to take over and re-mould humanity in their image. The two types have been fighting each other since before the Clan invasion", Dancer explained. "Clan Wolf split in two along the Warden/Crusader divide. The splinter faction - Clan Wolf-in-Exile - now resides in the Lyran Alliance".

Cairo sat back, "So the Ghost Bears may help us?"

Dancer shook his head, "Help is too strong a word. They will probably let us hunt for Cain, but they won't help us find him. If they do find him, they will kill him as a pirate, but to them, pirate hunting is the lowest calling for a warrior, reserved for the old and incompetent".

Cairo laughed, "Well, a lot of people think that about me. Tell me Go-cho Dancer, where are you from? You don't strike me as a typical Combine citizen".

Dancer smiled, "Please, call me Rob. Well, I was born on Lambrecht in a region of space known as the Lyon's Thumb. My father is a merchant from Kervil. He met a young Lyran woman; they fell in love and got married, had three kids, two boys and a girl. My older brother joined the Com Guards...he was killed fighting Word of Blake forces on Terra during the take-over. My sister lives on Dyev; she has a family of her own now. I joined the DCMS and got sent up here to help turn back the Ghost Bear invasion back in '64. I've been on Idlewind ever since. Now, due to my debt to Sgt. O'Brien, I am here".

Cairo regarded him thoughtfully. "Well Rob, that's your choice".

To Be Continued...