Bloodname

Horse just laughed. Aidan had been trying to clean up his language for some time, but Horse persisted in using freeborn slang and throwing in contractions wherever he could. The look on Horse's face when Aidan criticized his speech usually showed contempt for Aidan's warrior linguistic beliefs.

Well, so be it, Aidan thought. It was impossible to teach a freeborn to speak with honor, so it was no wonder the trueborn society that controlled the Clan empire looked down on them. Perhaps birth did dictate roles, as many Clan scientists believed. Horse would always be a freeborn, just as warriors were set in their caste. But what could be said of someone like Aidan, born of the highest caste while pretending to be of a lower one? Nothing dictated his role, except a rather cruel fate. And, as a Clansman, he should not believe in fate. A warrior created his or her own destiny. That was his goal now. To create his destiny.

5

When the Wolf Clan aerofighters went after the DropShip, Joa

She awaited the appearance of an aerofighter against which to turn this weapon, one she had fired often enough in target practice but never in actual air combat. This would, in fact, be the first time she had participated in combat not set firmly on the ground. A real challenge, but then again, how hard could it be? Probably no different than directing autoca

Joa

Behind her, she heard a polite cough.

"Nomad, what are you doing here?"

"You forgot lunch. I brought you something to eat."

Joa

"I am not very hungry."

"But you willeat."

"You are such a tyrant, Nomad. I can no longer stand you. Will you please tender me a request for transfer?"

"No. The galley here is not well-stocked, but I managed to get you some ti

"I hate knowing the origins of food. Just give it to me and go."

It was obvious Nomad had no intention of leaving. He stayed behind her, looking over her shoulder, making sure she ate. Joa

Noticing that the meat had an orange tinge and the salad greens looked dirty, Joa

She was grateful to put the meal aside when the gu

Leveling her weapon, she squeezed the trigger. Streams of coherent light stretched out from her blister toward the closest aerofighter, but her aim was off and the beams dissipated at a point past the attackers. Behind her, Nomad's disappointed sigh was audible. She wanted to scream at him to get out, but there was no time. The nearest aircraft was zeroing in on her, making a beeline for her blister.

She went berserk, firing burst after burst, so many that she could not maintain a fix on the enemy. At her feet, monitors displayed specific positions and other data, but she was not used to DropShip equipment and preferred to rely on her own gifts for using weaponry.

The missile salvo that the aerofighter launched might have destroyed the gu

"I knew I should have strapped myself in, Nomad. Nomad?"

Looking back, she saw that Nomad was peacefully unconscious against the hatchway. Damn! If she needed to make a quick exit, she would have to drag him out of the way.

She had no more time to worry about Nomad as an obstacle. The attack continued, and another aerofighter came within Joa

For a moment it looked like the fighter might disintegrate before hitting the DropShip, but then Joa

She kept shooting, and the fighter kept coming. When the laser suddenly overheated, she reached instinctively, flinging herself backward, against Nomad and the hatchway. The fighter seem to enlarge in front of the blister, but at the last minute, it disappeared.

Joa

Joa

"Nomad! Nomad!"

He murmured a response and seemed to be struggling to open his eyes. "Wake up! I need you."

The words sounded strange in her mouth. Joa

She slapped his face, and Nomad's eyes sprang open. He shook his head.

"What happened?"

"You were knocked out, that is what happened. The ship is losing this dogfight, I can feel it. Listen to the gu

More direct hits nearby. Any minute one good shot might make the blister fly off, leaving her and Nomad to be sucked out into the void as instant corpses.

"What . . . what should we do now?" Nomad said.

"First, get your behind off the floor so we can open the hatch. There is no point staying here. The gun is ruined and we have already almost been turned into debris once. We are going to the 'Mech bay. My orders to the command were to station themselves there, ready for an atmospheric drop if necessary."