Bloodname

The commlink was silent.

"Star Captain Joa

"My inertial guidance and sca

"It was deemed of lower priority than to rejoin the Glory Station forces."

The words irritated her, especially when spit out from the mouth of a freebirth, but she refused to engage such a lowlife in rational argument. He would not understand reason.

"And why have you not rejoined the garrison forces?"

"Our commander ordered us to go to the rim of the swamp, then await his orders."

"I am your commander again. You will do what I order."

"You are not here."

"When I am there then."

"How will you get here? You said yourself that your guidance system is inoperable."

"You will send one of the warriors to guide me to you. And one from myTrinary, none of your filthy freebirths whom I ca

A strange sound came over the commlink, but Joa

"Begging your pardon, Captain, but I recommend that you allow one of us ... us freeborns to come for you, filthy though we might be. We know the terrain and can get there faster."

For once Joa

* * *

Horse wished Aidan would return. MechWarrior Prent, whom he had sent out for Joa

* * *

Lanja was as good as her word. After ten grueling kilometers through the muck and mire of Blood Swamp, half-carrying, half-dragging Aidan all the way, she set up her communications gear and carefully aimed the parabolic ante

"You said you got your idea for the diversion from some book," Kael Pershaw said to Aidan. "A book?Where does the likes of you find a book?"

Aidan almost said that he had found it during his days in the sibko, but then he remembered that, as far as Kael Pershaw knew, he was freeborn and never was anywhere near a sibko. Not wanting to confess his secret cache of books in the freeborn barracks, he tried a lie: "I think, when I was a child, a woman used to come to my house and care for me when I was sick. I believe she brought the book with her. Took it away again later, for that matter."

"And this was what kind of book?"

"A great book, written in poetry and full of battle."

"So you are asking me to perform a diversion based on, as it were, battle intelligence from centuries ago. And written in poetry, at that."

"That about sums it up. We need the diversion so that the other part of the plan will work."

"What has made you think I would even consider a plan that comes from a stinking freebirth?"

"Because, Star Colonel Kael Pershaw, I know that you are a master strategist who can see the merit in anyone's plan, even a freebirth's."

"Even a freebirth wearing the dark band, whom I am encouraging to talk much beyond the small liberties permitted by the band."

"With all due respect, sir, I do believe the rites of the dark band should be suspended during a battle. They interfere with—"

"Yes, yes, Jorge. But, when I do allow you to talk, it is difficult to shut you up. How do you expect me to do what you want? It is quite a logistical monstrosity, your plan."

"But it can work."

"It worked in a story. Anyway, I will do as you say. Short of retreating all the way to Glory Station and allowing Clan Wolf to overrun us, I am out of schemes to use in this battle. Lanja!"

"Sir?"

"I think this plan will work better if we use your Elementals. Can they squeeze into such a small area?"

"It is large enough for two or three of them."

"Two will be sufficient. And can they find their way across the field without being detected?"

"I ca

"That is sufficient. Jorge, you are dismissed. Return to your unit and await my signal. If we ca

Aidan nodded and left Lanja alone on top of the knoll. Pershaw, disgusted at having to deal with a freebirth, rubbed sweat off his forehead.

"That cost you a lot, did it not, Colonel?" she said.

"You know that any contact with freebirth warriors irritates me. I suppose, though, that it is better to get help from freeborns than to let my gene legacy wind up as Clan Wolf property."

"You are not accepting something from just any freeborn. This one has distinguished himself."

"How can you say that? He has killed one of my officers and been insubordinate on many occasions."

"And he has rescued the survivors of the crash, enlarging your complement of warriors. For what it is worth, he also saved me from being mauled by a tree puma. Then he saved my life again when I almost drowned. Jorge has shown bravery and resourcefulness in spite of the accident of his birth."

Pershaw understood what Lanja said, but in his heart he deeply resented Jorge and all his deeds, however useful and miraculous.

"Rest," Lanja said. "I must meet my team on the battlefield. There will be another battle soon enough, and we will see how well Jorge's plan works."

"Your cuts are almost healed."

"I hate to tell you this, but the medicine was originally discovered by a freeborn warrior and administered to me by another freeborn warrior."

Pershaw shuddered. Thoughts of coupling with Lanja turned sour. He was afraid he would sense the freeborn touch on her skin.

18

Lanja had been in a 'Mech cockpit before, but those machines had been upright for inspection tours, not twisted and lying on their sides on a ravaged battlefield. To squeeze into this Fire Moth,her fellow Elemental had ripped out the command couch and half the control panels so the two of them could fit in their full battle armor. Others had found clever concealment beneath the detritus of battle.

They were operating under radio silence, Kael Pershaw having decided that the risk of Clan Wolf picking up some stray transmission was too great. In the dark confusion of her battlesuit, Lanja waited in isolation for the flare Pershaw would send up when he decided the time was right.

"Clan Wolf must attack," he had said. "The plan will only work if they are on the move."

Lanja had noted that whenever Kael Pershaw mentioned the plan, he never attached Jorge's name to it. It was as though he wanted to prevent anyone from knowing that the plan had originated with a freeborn. Though Lanja had always assumed that she despised freeborns as much as anyone of her caste, next to Kael Pershaw's hatred, hers seemed like the whim of a child.

* * *

In the dome housing the command center, Star Captain Dwillt Radick was pla