Bloodname

"Did what?" Marthe said morosely.

"Over-reached. That has been his history. In battles, Trials, in personality conflicts. He would have qualified in his first Trial but for that flaw."

Marthe did not wish to talk of this now. She especially resented Joa

Megasa was standing at the edge of the pit, his 'Mech's torso leaning over the hole so that its pilot could look down into it.

* * *

When he came to, Aidan was groggy. Looking up, he saw the Mad Dogbending over the pit. And there was Megasa at the viewport, obviously checking on Aidan visually, not trusting his sensors to give the accurate picture he wanted of Aidan's pathetic circumstances.

Shaking off his daze, Aidan checked his weapons systems on the secondary screen. It showed that the few missiles left were useless because of the angles of the launch mount. And with the PPC destroyed, his only operable weapon was the LB 10-X. According to the onscreen data, however, its ammo feed had jammed. Besides, only one cluster round was chambered in the weapon. A glorified shotgun shell to be used against a raging elephant.

Seeing Megasa wave from his cockpit, Aidan saw no point in firing his weapon. He was already dead. He wanted to shut his eyes and simply accept his fate.

But no, even now, something in him could not give up. He had never been able to give up. In cadet maneuvers, he had persisted in trying every maneuver or strategy even when it went against the training given the sibko. At his first Trial, he had nearly won with unorthodox tactics. The same kind of performance had won his second Trial. His experiences as a warrior reinforced the tenacity that must have been with him from the moment he dropped from the canister. As with all his victories, it had been his ability to persevere that had also won the victory at Glory Station.

He did not give up then. He would not give up now.

Quickly lining up his shot, aiming it for the part of the Mad Dog'supper torso that was visible over the pit, he fired. He pla

He watched all the essentially ineffectual hits dotting the Mad Dog'supper torso in a patternless way. He even saw the dust raised by a hit against the surface of the cockpit.

At first, however, he did not see that the cockpit hit had created a hairline fracture. The first sign of the hit was the stream of vapor escaping in a thin line that quickly expanded. It was then that Aidan saw the fracture, which widened even as he watched. The last sign was the face of Megasa coming forward, eyes wide, skin paling, mouth opening.

In a sudden rush of decompression, the cockpit exploded outward. Megasa apparently flew out with it, but Aidan did not see him. Some of the debris, maybe some of Megasa, settled down onto the Summonerburied in the pit.

Perhaps it was shock, perhaps he was still dazed from the fall. Whatever the cause, Aidan fell into unconsciousness before he could react further to the events of the last few moments. As the world around him went dark and void, all he knew was that he had just won the Trial of Bloodright. Aidan had won his Bloodname.

Epilogue

A few years after Aidan won his Bloodname, his daughter Diana, of whose existence he was still ignorant, qualified in her Trial of Position and became a warrior.

Had she defeated more than one 'Mech at the Trial, she would have begun her career as a Clan warrior with the rank of Star Commander. She had won respectably against only one 'Mech, however, and so it was MechWarrior Diana who climbed down the side of her Hellbringerat the end of her Trial. The 'Mech's surface was still so hot that accidentally touching it burned the palm of her hand.

Though proud and happy, Diana had no grandiose notions about her warrior status because she could never compete for a Bloodname. She merely wanted the privilege of being part of her Clan's invasion of the I

The Bloodname issue that had so obsessed her father would not drive her life. She was, after all, the product of a union between Aidan and his former sibkin Peri. Though the daughter of the two trueborns, her natural birth made her a freeborn and forever ineligible to win a Bloodname. Diana did not really mind that. She did not even mind that the trues showed so much contempt for her kind. Perhaps she had simply grown so accustomed to it that it seemed merely a fact of life. Like her father, she had fought many a truebirth who taunted her, but that was more an acceptance of the necessity to fight back as a freeborn legacy.

Standing alongside the massive foot of her Hellbringer,Diana gave it a salute. You got me this far, she told the 'Mech silently. Now I will do right by you.

In all the time she had dreamed of being a warrior, Diana had never imagined encountering her father. She saw no reason why he would want to see or know her. What trueborn would seek to acknowledge a freeborn child? Trueborns, of course, rarely met either geneparent.

Diana had known only her mother, but like a true-born, she had wanted nothing more from life than to be a Clan warrior. Now that her wish had become reality, she looked forward to a fulfilling future in service to the Clan. Envisioning that future did not yet include any fantasies of knowing her father.

As she walked away from her 'Mech, she clenched and unclenched her right hand, testing the burn that still stung painfully.

* * *

Peri, now an important scientist, sent her blessing, but did not come to see her daughter off on the day her unit began its long journey across the stars that would take them to join the invasion of the I

* * *

While Diana was begi

Well, not completely useless. He was part of an infantry unit composed of warriors judged too old to pilot a 'Mech or engage in combat except as ca

All the members of his unit had been issued uniforms, boots, a gun, and a knife, then sent on this march on foot toward the enemy. Ter Roshak was no fool, he knew what was happening. This trek was exactly why all the old warriors of this unit had joined.

As they drew nearer the front, Ter Roshak saw 'Mechs spread across a wide, hilly clearing. With the Clan 'Mechs in temporary retreat, the commanders needed to buy some time. To do that, Ter Roshak's unit was to march directly into the enemy, firing at them with outdated, old weapons, equipment that was expendable if dropped in the field.

They were all going to die, but their deaths would buy other Clan warriors time to regroup, reload, and recharge. Their commanding officer had ordered Ter Roshak's unit to stay alive as long as they could, and to keep on shooting the whole time. If they ran out of ammo, they were to use knives. If they lost their knives, then they must go after the nearest enemy with their bare hands. If their hands were broken, they must kick the enemy with their feet. If their feet were shot off, they must crawl to the enemy warriors and try in some other way to kill them. If they could not crawl, then they must fire into the nearest brush. If they could not move, then they must simply wait to die. If they could not die, then there must be something wrong with their attitude.