Way Of The Clans

Joa

The rest of the sibko had left the classroom, and with Dermot hovering nervously behind them and moving around the diameter of the circle, they watched the central actions intently. Aidan spotted Marthe staring only at him, her eyes so cool that, with the empathy they shared, he could easily see her anxiety.

Joa

As Aidan sat up, the whip thong still wrapped around his legs, he saw the mix of terrible emotions that had come onto the faces of his sibkin. Bret's look was scornful, a judgment on Aidan's penchant for getting into trouble. Peri's was mocking, an I-hope-you-really-get-it-this-time kind of look. Endo was smug, probably thinking that he was punished in the Circle much less than Aidan or any of the others. Orilna was more withdrawn, but she already had poised her body, as she often did, into a battle pose. She would, while standing still, imitate the bodily moves of Joa

Behind the agitated group, Falconer Commander Ter Roshak stood impassively, as he usually did. He rarely participated in training but frequently observed it. Although he usually did not speak to cadets, it was said that he called in the training officers each night and gave them trenchant critical lectures laced with scorn and obscenity. Every once in a while during the training period, Aidan had looked up to see Ter Roshak staring piercingly at him, a suggestion of anger in his eyes. His strange face often seemed to take on different looks, different aspects, as mountainsides did during the changing light of day.

As Joa

"A BEAUTIFUL HURTING MACHINE."

"If you think kill, you will kill."

"IF WE THINK KILL, WE WILL KILL."

"If you have a boot, you crush your enemy."

"IF WE HAVE A BOOT, WE CRUSH OUR ENEMY."

"If you have a hand, you strangle your enemy."

"IF WE HAVE A HAND, WE STRANGLE OUR ENEMY."

"If you have a club, you bludgeon your attacker."

"IF WE HAVE A CLUB, WE BLUDGEON THE ATTACKER."

"If you have a knife, you stab your foe."

"IF WE HAVE A KNIFE, WE STAB OUR FOE."

"If you have a gun, you shoot it."

"IF WE HAVE A GUN, WE SHOOT IT."

"If you have a tank, you roll it over the opposing ranks"

"IF WE HAVE A TANK, WE ROLL IT OVER THE OPPOSING RANKS."

"If you have an aerofighter, you bomb them."

"IF WE HAVE AN AEROFIGHTER, WE BOMB THEM."

"If you have a 'Mech, you win."

"IF WE HAVE A 'MECH, WE WIN."

"You are always the victor."

"WE ARE ALWAYS THE VICTOR."

"When the blood is spilled, the bloodname is earned."

"WHEN THE BLOOD IS SPILLED, THE BLOOD-NAME IS EARNED."

"We are the Clan."

"WE ARE THE CLAN."

At the end she held the pair of whips high over her head, harsh beams of light coming off the metal studs in her falconer gloves, and Aidan was certain that her voice made the outer walls of the school building shake. If not for his intense control over his physical body, it would certainly have made him tremble.

But he no longer feared Falconer Joa

Turning toward Aidan, who now stood, Joa

"Look toward me, filth."

The haziness of the air around them, which made the sun seem to fill the sky, made Joa

Joa