The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit
Part 14: Parting shots
CNC Spirit Sight
The Kuiper Belt
Sol
Cairo felt relived to be back on the Warship after almost a week spent in the cramped confines of the shuttle. The first thing he intended to do was spend some quality time in one of the showers located in the ships rotating grav-deck.
He was a little surprised to see the ship's doctor waiting for him.
"Colonel." The short woman looked as professional as any other Clan medic, "I need to see you in my office, immediately."
Cairo through about arguing, but there was something about the look in the woman's eyes that told him it was too important to delay.
"Than by all means, lead on." He nodded.
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"I have been going over the result for the medical exam I conducted on you just before you left." The Doctor explained once they reached the privacy of the closet she called an office, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."
"Ok." Cairo nodded slowly, "What did you find."
"This." The doctor handed over a print-off from the ships small CAT-scanner, "There is a tumour in your frontal lobe. I am afraid to say that, due to its position, that it is inoperable."
"How long."
"There are several courses of treatment that we can discus…"
"How long."
"I can not say for sure; five months, five years, tomorrow. This type of tumour is notoriously hard to predict. You are not displaying any symptoms yet, but it is only a matter of time before you do. I can prescribe medication to keep the worst of it at bay, but it will become noticeable."
"Will I still be able to pilot a BattleMech?"
"Yes: with the correct medication, there is nothing to stop you living a normal life. The location and type of the tumour mean that there will be no major symptoms until the very end. When it happens, it will be quick and painless."
"What more could a man hope for in life…"
"I am not really qualified to deal with this sort of situation. Perhaps the doctor on the Wildfire would be able to suggest something…"
"If you are saying that I should see a physiatrist, then I think you are mistaken. I have known for a very long time that I would die before my four score and ten were up."
"You are taking this very well."
"This is just shock: I fully intend to have a shower, go back to my quarters and get blind drunk…"
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Cairo's head felt like an Atlas was stomping on it. His tough felt like something had crawled into his mouth to die. Through bloodshot eyes he saw someone offer him a bulb of coffee and two aspirin.
"Thanks." He groaned as he took the offered painkillers and washed them down with a mouthful of steaming hot black coffee.
"The doctor told me what she found." Sinade sat down on the bed, keeping the Velcro tabs on the soles of her feet attached to the deck, "I had to pull my 'executive officers' card before she'd breach confidentiality, but she told me in the end."
"How do you feel?"
"Isn't that something I should be asking you?"
"Sinade…"
"Numb, I feel numb. I can live with the concept that we're at war, and people die in wars, but this is just so out of the blue."
"Yeah, well I'm not exactly happy with it myself: all I care about is seeing this mission through to the end and getting to Alshain to be with the kids. Maybe the doctors there can do something."
"We're still in the very heart of Word of Blake territory, wanted dead by both sides. Getting out may not be that easy."
"We can head for Davion space: the Federated Suns owe as a few favours, and it's about time we cashed them in. After that we can head up through the Combine till we he the Ghost Bear Domain. All we need to do is steer clear of Lyran space: I'd be shot on sight."
"I guess it's true: you can never go home again."
"I'm sorry it's like this Sinade, but there is no way we can go back there…"
"Steven, the Alliance hasn't been my home for a very, very long time. I stopped thinking of it as home after the Clan's invaded Somerset. Outreach and the Dragoons were home, for a while, but home IS where the heart is: my home is where ever you and our children are. I don't regret for one moment marrying you."
"What did I ever do to deserve you?" Cairo asked.
His wife's response kept his mind occupied for some time.
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It was late in the ships night when Cairo pulled himself through the hatchway into the bridge. Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux was hunched over the map table, pen in hand.
"Pfennig for your thoughts?" Cairo asked.
"A less than expectable exchange rate." The old Nova Cat smiled, "You are taking the doctors news very well."
"Does everyone on this ship know?"
"We have a small crew, and rumours travel faster than HPG's. You have my condolences."
"I'm over 30: wouldn't that make me solahma?"
"We Nova Cats think differently: I am almost 50 standard years old, but am still considered a competent field commander."
"Who captains a Corvette?"
"You take what you can get."
"Fair enough. So, what you planning?"
"I feel we should leave Word of Blake something to remind us by before we turn our back on this system."
"You have something in mind?"
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The Cassini Division
Saturn
Sol
Space flashed as the Spirit Sight appeared in the gap between the rings, setting off every alarm within two A.U.'s. Fighters and Assault DropShips took off from the shipyards in orbit of Titan, while a pair of half-completed Suffren class destroyers lit their interplanetary drives, ready to engage the enemy.
A pair of doors opened in the side of the Spirit Sight. There was a puff of escaping air, and a number of small spheres floated out into space, drifting towards the oncoming defenders.
A series of bright flashes filled the second hatch, and a number of modified Arrow IV artillery missiles leapt from hastily constructed launchers. Their drive flairs burning brightly for a few seconds, then died.
Both doors closed with a silent click.
Space rippled, and the Spirit Sight disappeared in a flash of light, its hyperdrive drawing power from its reserve batteries.
The Word of Blake fighters and DropShips continued on cores, intent on looking for anything the warship had dropped off. They passed by the missiles heading the other direction without noticing them, the radar absorbent coating on the weapons making them all but invisible.
The first Shiva nuclear mine to detonate destroyed a Stingray light fighter and damaged several others, and made the other ships scatter. But by then it was already too later: the small fleet was already in the middle of the minefield. Space erupted in a series of silent explosions as the proximity detonators on the Shiva's detected targets. Two locked onto the same Intruder class assault-ship.
Nothing remained when the glared died down.
The two Suffren's managed to avoid the carnage of the minefield, but were caught the edge of the swarm of Arrow's. Each missiles Alamo warhead was large enough to disable or destroy a ship twice the size of a Suffren, and each ship look multiple hits. The areas that were covered by a full layer of armour survived relatively intact, but the remainder of the ships were not so lucky.
The two hulks floated dead in space.
Alarms had already started to sound at the Titan fleet yards, and the defensive systems did their best to put up a wall of flack to stop the incoming missiles. Several where stopped, but not all.
Flash after flash lit up the shipyards as the missiles struck home, their warheads vaporising everything they hit.
Word of Blake had, for a long time, been using the yards to refit merchant and pirate JumpShips to use as transports in the war, and the shipyard was full to overflowing. Each hit meant one less ship the fanatics could use continue the war, and the damage done to the infrastructure meant that they would be hard put to keep their remaining fleet in action.
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CNC Spirit Sight
Interstellar space
The Chaos March
The corvette reappeared in normal space with a flash, keeping as far as possible from any star to avoid the fleet of ships that would no doubt be sent looking for it.
"That was a close one." Cairo wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his uniform, "Pity we couldn't stick around and watch the fireworks."
"I am sure that Station-X will intercept footage of the destruction." Leroux nodded, "I am only sorry that we had to damage such a useful and advanced instillation. I only hope that our allies are able to uncover the location of the Ruins of Gabriel."
"The what not?"
"The Ruins of Gabriel: a Star League Defence Force warship repair faculty somewhere in Lyran space. Its exact location was unknown by the time we went silent running, but what remains of the Explorer Corps was supposable looking for it."
"But if it was a Star League base, shouldn't you know where it was, given that the Clans are descended from the SLDF?"
"Aff, we should, but we have been unable to find any records of it in our databanks. Its absence is a mystery."
"Well all I care about is getting to the nearest friendly base where we can get this ship repaired."
"We are charging the batteries as we speak, but were shall we go?"
"New Syrtis in the Federated Suns: apart from some damage inflicted by the Capellans during a raid, the shipyards are reportable intact. I'd prefer Kathil, but the yard there took a lot of damage during the FedCom Civil War, and was still rebuilding when Word of Blake started this war."
"New Syrtis it is then."
TBC…