Falcon Guard

"I doremember the dark band," Aidan said. The dark band was an emblem of shame that Pershaw had forced him to wear for the killing of another Clan officer.

"I wished at the time to crush you; instead, you became a hero. I wonder, too, at your allusion to your present success. Success?Your career is a history of unfavorable assignments, of minor battles, of garrison duties. Even your experience here on Quarell has taint to it. Other units are presently engaging in more important battles on more important planets." Pershaw cocked his head inquisitively. "You are silent. Unwilling to make excuses, are you?"

"Clan warriors do not make excuses." Pershaw laughed abruptly, the sound having lost no cruelty over the years. "Oh, spend some time with the Jade Falcon command group and you will hear excuses enough. When circumstances are extreme, Clan tradition sometimes suffers. Our warriors, however, perform consistently with our virtues and ideals. They are honorable. And you are one of them, quiaff?"

"It is my hope," Aidan said. "But you have spoken truly. I have not had key assignments in this invasion or in preceding duties. And I am aware of the taint that has accompanied my career. I have tried to wipe it out by-well, it does not matter to you what I have tried. The taint remains."

Pershaw's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps if you had beaten Megasa differently in your final Bloodright battle . . . Then again, perhaps not. With your history, the taint would have remained, no matter what. We of the Clan are an unforgiving lot, quiaff?"

Aidan shrugged. He was finding it difficult to look steadily at Kael Pershaw. The man's deformities, especially the half-face, were disconcerting. On the visible facial skin was a trio of deep scars ru

Like all Clan warriors, Aidan dreaded becoming old. Yet his worst fears had never envisioned this kind of old warrior, one so damaged by battle that he had become at least half-monster.

Pershaw, perhaps sensing some of Aidan's reaction, carefully rearranged himself on his chair, using his good hand to settle his bad leg into a more upright position. He lifted the shoulder of his stiff arm so that the limb did not seem to hang as a weight.

"I can do nothing to remove this taint, Aidan Pryde, and I am here to convey a decision that will no doubt add to it. As you know, the Falcon Guards Cluster was nearly demolished by the action in the Great Gash on Twycross. This is the only major defeat Clan Jade Falcon has suffered in this invasion, and it has tainted the Falcon Guards, just as you are tainted. Dezgrais the word."

"Yes, but were the Guards not the victims of secretly planted demolition charges and—"

Pershaw nearly rose out of his chair in anger. "You do not make excuses for yourself, nor do you make excuses for the Falcon Guards! Adler Malthus was too arrogant. He should have scouted the pass properly before leading so many 'Mechs into a confined area. He should not have accepted an honor duel with an I

"Kael Pershaw, who knows what command decision another commander—myself included—might have made in the same circumstances, with the same intelligence data."

Pershaw's visible eye blazed with fury. "Good! Good! Then perhaps, in your own arrogance, you arethe proper choice to command the new Falcon Guards!" He was almost shouting.

This time Pershaw did attempt to rise out of the chair, but unable to achieve the proper balance, he fell right back into it. Despite Aidan's intense dislike of the man, he was saddened to see the former superb warrior in such a diminished physical state. He was a rare specimen, so debilitated as to be unsuitable even for one of the old-warrior units often sacrificed as a delaying tactic in battle. Again he saw his own future as an old warrior, and he did not want to reach it. He would also hate to become such a physical wreck.

Then the meaning of what Pershaw had just said hit Aidan like a projectile with a delayed charge.

"I am to command the new Falcon Guards, Kael Pershaw?"

Pershaw's new laughter was low-down, mean. "That is the gist of the message for which I am messenger. All survivors of the former Falcon Guards will be transferred out and a completely new contingent will be formed, with you at its head. Do you see, Aidan Pryde, what I meant about taint? You are the only available officer who would not be insulted by such a command. And I can see in your eyes that you are not."

"The assignment means front-line duty, does it not?"

"Even more than you anticipate."

"That more than compensates for any taint."

"And that is why I chose you, Aidan Pryde. I knew you would feel no shame at the assignment."

"Youchose me? You are now a Khan?"

"And not just his messenger? You are right, Aidan Pryde, quite right. I was the only one, in fact, who could convey this message. Khan Chistu is busy at the moment, as you might imagine. To forestall any further questions, let me say that I am among the highest-placed advisors to our Khan. He selected me, even though I am a crippled old man."

"That is logical, given Vandervahn Chistu's reputation as an intelligent and crafty warrior. You were always known as a supreme military strategist, Kael Pershaw."

"I should say that you flatter me, but I ca

"It is strange, Kael Pershaw. I should be wounded by your words, but instead I am eager to take the command you offer me."

"Just as I suspected. Make no mistake, you will start this new assignment with several disadvantages. In addition to the stained reputation of the Guards, you are being assigned subordinate officers and warriors who are not, may I say, among the best Clan Jade Falcon has to offer. Like you, each of them has some mark against him, some blemish to his codex. Many of them you would best eliminate immediately by putting them in your front lines against formidable odds.

"But how you handle this new duty is your responsibility. My task is merely to inform you that you are detached from your present duty to meet with your new, uh, warriors. They will be assembling on Orkney's southern hemisphere, at a training field called Mudd Station. You will not have much time to form up your Falcon Guards and whip them into any kind of shape. You will soon go into battle."

"How soon?"

"That has not yet been decided. The Khan has authorized me to brief you, but until all a

"Aff."

"ComStar is no longer neutral. The ilKhan has informed them that our objective is Terra, and they refuse to allow us to occupy their home planet."

"Then we must be concerned about the ComStar administrators on our planets rising up against us."

"No. The ComStar Precentor Martial has issued a batchallto ilKhan Kerensky, which has been accepted. ComStar has arranged with ilKhan Kerensky for a single battle between the Clans and the ComStar military forces on a planet named Tukayyid. A Clan victory will mean that the prize of Terra is ours. But if we lose, the ilKhan has agreed that our forces will not advance for a period of fifteen years. And during all that time we must be content merely holding and administering the planets we have already conquered."