The Ballard of Cairo
Part forty-three: The Devil you know

Thor's Shieldhall, Silesia
Solaris City, Solaris VII
Lyran Alliance

The crew of the Wataru had taken over a table at the back of the bar after Cairo's interview on Mech-Talk. Most of them where drinking beer, except for Rebecca, who being only 19, had to stick to fruit juice. She turned to Jackson. "Why can I drink alcohol on the DropShip, but not here?"

The pilot smiled. "DropShip's and JumpShips can set their own rules on drinking, but in the Lyran Alliance, you have to be 21."

The Clan MechWarrior shrugged, "Very strange."

Cairo and O'Brien were discussing the next match: a Lance-on-Lance event in which all four MechWarrior's would fight, when a voice from behind called out, "Hello Sinead...long time no see!"

O'Brien's face went white. Cairo turned to see who the speaker was and his eyes went wide: it was Sebastian Cain! He tried to grab the pirate - only to be held back by Rix. He struggled in the Elementals grip, but he was no match for the genetically engineered infantryman.

O'Brien stood and slowly made for the exit. Cain smiled at her as she walked away then turned to Cairo "I'll see you in the games." Cairo watched him as he walked off through the crowd. Only when Cain was out of sight did Rix let Cairo go. Much to the surprise of everyone at the table, he went after O'Brien rather than Cain.

He caught up with her as she walked down the street. He could see she was crying and his anger slipped away. "What was that all about?"

O'Brien wiped her eyes and sat on a bench. "I once told you about how I was born on Somerset, but my family fled to New Exford during the invasion. Well, that's partly true. My father was in the Somerset Militia and stayed behind to give the DropShip's taking refugees time to get away. He was killed defending the spaceport. About two years later we reached New Exford and soon after, my mother re-married. The man's name was Patrick Cain...Sebastian Cain is my stepbrother."

Cairo's knees buckled as he felt the strength drain from him and he collapsed onto the bench next to O'Brien, who continued her story. "When I was 18, I completed my MechWarrior training. A group of us cadets went out to celebrate. We were trying to find somewhere that would serve us alcohol when we bumped into Sebastian. He got us served in a bar he knew and we all got pretty drunk. I told you that I went to Outreach because I didn't get a place in the Lyran military, but that's not true: I had been offered a place...but I ran away."

Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. "I ran away because Sebastian tried to rape me. He got me drunk and he tried to rape me. I told my mother, but she didn't believe me. The police said there was no evidence, so they couldn't arrest him. Everyone thought I was crazy, making wild accusations against a member of the local garrison, so I ran to Outreach and never looked back. I've not spoken to my family since." She collapsed into Cairo's arms and he held her close.

"I'll kill him...I promise you!" he whispered.

To Be Continued...