The Ballard of Cairo
Part thirty-five: On the right track
Borghese Spaceport
Borghese
Lyran Alliance
Cairo squeezed himself into the jump seat of Star Commander Scot's Sulla OmniFighter. The genetically engineered pilot strapped himself in and turned to his bondsmaster, "Is this really necessary sir? Cannot the local police just tell the people to disperse?"
Cairo shook his head, "Here in the Inner Sphere they have rules about freedom of assembly. I know what you mean though: Back on Los Alamos, the security teams would have kept them away from the beginning. I will never understand how this place works." Cairo re-checked his harness as the bay doors opened.
There was a sudden surge of power and a feeling like several people where standing on his chest, then the fighter was in the air and away. For all the Clan pilot's arrogance, he really knew how to fly. The sleek fighter took a wide arc over the city and set course for the garrison base. Cairo opened a radio channel "Borghese garrison, this is fighter Angle out of the DropShip Wataru, requesting permeation to land, over." He looked at the pilot, "Why did you name this fighter Angle?"
The bondsman turned his head to the side slightly, "Why did you name you Mech Retribution? It just felt right."
The radio crackled, "This is Borghese garrison command. The Colonel is expecting you. Come right to runway 30-30. You are cleared for landing, fighter Angle. Welcome to Borghese, Lt. Cairo." The radio went dead.
Cairo banged his helmeted head against the side of the cockpit, "Why is it everyone knows who I am?"
Scot thought for a moment, "Maybe they need heroes during this Civil War? You are neutral, safe to like". He brought the fighter round for final approach, "You have to admit sir: your story is quite remarkable".
Cairo frowned, "One thing you, like every one else, has to learn is this: I don not care for the Inner Sphere, or the Clans, or the Star League. My planet was attacked during the Reunification War, and has never recovered. I don not have this image of the Star League as a golden era. To me, it is just a page in a history book." The fighter kissed the ground and came to a stop. "Stay with the fighter, I'll go talk to the base commander. Cain has no doubt skipped planet, but there may be some clues as to where he went."
Cairo walked across the tarmac to a waiting car. The private in the driver's seat saluted, "I'm afraid the Colonel is quite busy at the moment. Some of the news agencies were able to track your fighter here and have laid siege to the front gate. He wanted you to have this and asks if you can leave ASAP?"
Cairo took the padded envelope the private held out and nodded, "We're leaving now. Thank you." He turned back to the OmniFighter.
The Clan pilot seemed shocked that Cairo was back so soon. "Is something wrong sir?"
Cairo nodded, "The press tracked us here and the base commander is busy dealing with them. He asked us to leave as soon as possible, so let us head back to the DropShip." He hauled himself back into the fighter as VTOLs started to hover overhead. "And if any of those press copters should get in our way; shoot them down."
The flight back to the spaceport was uneventful and Scot brought his fighter to a stop beside the Wataru. The recovery arm extended from above the fighter bay and picked the Sulla off of the ground and carried it in. Only after the bay door was closed and sealed did Scot open the canopy.
Cairo walked to his quarters before opening the envelope. It contained two pieces of paper and a CD-ROM disk. The first piece of paper was a letter from the garrison commander apologising for not being able to see him personally and the second was a copy of a DropShip passenger list. The name 'Cain, S' was highlighted, as was the destination, Solaris VII. He placed the CD-ROM in the terminal beside his bunk. It showed gun-camera footage of a Commando being hit by SRM fire and its legs snapping under the onslaught. After the Mech had hit the ground, a line of text appeared on the screen: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, CLARK.
Cairo's fist shattered the screen, cutting his hand badly on the glass. The door opened and O'Brien ran in "What was that?"
Cairo looked at her, "Cain." He stood up, "I told you to leave, why did you stay?" He advanced towards her, his hand dripping blood. She took a step back, but he reached out and hit the close button on the door. He stood only centimetres from her.
She swallowed hard, "I wanted to. I want to make it up to you. I didn't sleep with you just because I was ordered to get close to you. I'd never follow an order like that, never."
Cairo's eyes burned like supernovas, the pure rage that drove him crystal clear to O'Brien. He pushed the open button beside the door and she fell backwards, landing in the corridor beyond.
Jackson walked up to her, "What happened in there?"
O'Brien looked at him, "Pain...I saw his pain."
The spy turned pilot nodded "We all have. We all have."
To Be Continued...