The Ballard of Cairo
Part forty-seven: Dance with the Devil
Ishiyama, Kobe
Solaris City, Solaris VII
Lyran Alliance
Cairo moved his new Thunder Hawk through the knot, trying to find Silvesterson's Sunder in the multi-levelled maze. They had traded shots earlier, Cairo scoring with his Gauss Rifles, but Silvesterson had torn a huge rent in his armour, from his left hip to his centre torso with her 120-mm Autocannon. The metallic makeup of the artificial cave system clouded his sensors, forcing him to rely on luck and gut instinct to find Cain's friend.
Cairo found himself at a crossroads of four tunnels. He was about to continue forwards when eight SRM's struck his right arm. He struck back with his right arm Gauss Rifle and medium laser, ripping the Sunder's left arm off, robbing it of its twin large lasers. Cairo moved his Mech forward at a slow walk, firing his Gauss Rifles as they re-loaded, sending round after round into Silvesterson's Mach, forcing her to back up the way she had come.
By the time the battered Omni had reached the lake in the centre of the arena, it was more scrap than war machine, lacking almost all of its front armour. Cairo continued to press the attack, sending the Sunder backwards into the dark waters. The assault Mech disappeared below the surface and Cairo heard a cry for help over the general radio frequency: one of his shots had cracked Silvesterson's cockpit and it was filling with water.
Cairo charged the Thunder Hawk forward at top speed, reaching the downed Sunder in a matter of moments. Using the Hawk's massive battle fists, he ripped the cockpit from the Sunder and raised it above the water line. He could hear the sounds of the crowd going wild over the com-system. He didn't know if they where cheering or booing and he didn't care.
The Final Approach, International zone
Solaris City, Solaris VII
Lyran Alliance
Cairo was alone in the pub when Cain walked in and sat beside him. The pirate looked at him. "Why did you save her?"
Cairo finished his drink and stood to leave. "Enough people have died because of you. She didn't do anything to me and I have nothing against her. You're the one I want dead. When I go up against you, it will be in my Orion. If you have any honour, you will face me in your Champion. Until then..."
Cairo walked back to the Wataru and went straight to the quarters he and O'Brien where sharing. O'Brien was there and saw the look on his face. "What happened?"
He looked at her, "Cain came to see me at the Final Approach and asked my why I didn't kill Silvesterson. I told him it was because she had never done anything to me...but that's a lie - I saved her to prove that I was better than him...to prove that what I do is justified. But that isn't true either. I could so easily have become like him, but you brought me back."
O'Brien smiled and kissed him, "And I'm glad I did."
To Be Continued...