Falcon Guard

The entourage turned and walked away from the cabinet. The walls closed behind them.

"All hail the genetic legacy of Aidan Pryde," Marthe shouted.

"Seyla!" sang out the assembled warriors. "All hail his deeds in battle."

"Seyla!"

"All hail his life as a Jade Falcon warrior."

"Seyla!"

As Marthe continued to lead the ritual, Diana glanced at Joa

As the ritual ended, a hush fell over the assembled crowd, broken suddenly when a warrior several rows behind Diana stood up abruptly.

"I am Star Colonel Caro Pryde of Trinary Bravo of the Twelfth Jade Falcon Cluster, and I herewith nominate my finest warrior, MechWarrior Isak, to compete in the Trial of Bloodright for the most honorable Bloodname bequeathed to the Jade Falcons by the warrior Aidan Pryde."

Before Marthe could even respond, two other Jade Falcon warriors from House Pryde had stood up.

"I am Star Commander Darya Pryde of Trinary Charlie of the Second Jade Falcon Cluster, and I herewith nominate the brave and distinguished MechWarrior Novalis to compete in the Trial of Bloodright for the most honorable and eternally admirable Bloodname bequeathed to the Jade Falcons by the warrior Aidan Pryde."

"I am Star Captain Mansoor Pryde of Trinary Echo of the Fifteenth Jade Falcon Cluster, and I herewith nominate the gallant and superbly resourceful Star Commander Velyn to compete in the Trial of Bloodright for the most deserving and honored Bloodname bequeathed to the Jade Falcon lineage by the warrior Aidan Pryde."

At first Diana marveled at the subtlety with which the various warriors of House Pryde embellished their nominations, as each one rose to offer his or her candidate for the valorous lineage of Aidan Pryde's Bloodname. However, as the ceremony continued, she could not hold back tears. This was her father and, though it was not the way of the Clan, Diana was happy at the unprecedented renown that had come to him and his name on this day, a day she would remember forever.

Finally she was at peace with Aidan Pryde. They had known each other only in her mind, and that indeed was enough.

* * *

After the ceremony, when all had returned to the upper levels of the gene center, Peri stepped out from a doorway to confront Diana.

"So," she said, "It seems you found your father."

"He never knew who I was, except perhaps at the very end of his life, and I am not sure about that."

"You look well. Being a warrior has made you even more beautiful."

"I do not care about that."

"I know you do not. But at this moment I wonder what you must be feeling toward me."

"I do not understand the question. You are my mother."

"And what does such a concept mean to you, as one who comes from a union that has muddled both the true-born and freeborn concepts of parenthood? I am asking you as a scientist whose lifework has been the study of genetic heritages in and out of the sibko."

Diana shuddered involuntarily. "You are like him, you know, like Aidan Pryde, distant."

"Do not forget that I, too, was once a warrior cadet," Peri said. "I am trueborn. If I seem distant, it may be only because of that. But tell me how you interpret parenthood."

"Well ... I do not know what to say. During this ceremony I felt confused. I am too trueborn to be a freeborn, too freeborn to be a trueborn. I am some kind of misfit and maybe that is what he meant!"

"What who meant?"

"Aidan Pryde. I asked him why I was a Falcon Guard, and he merely said because he wanted me there. Maybe he sensed that I belonged with the Guards because I was as much a misfit as the rest, caught between two worlds."

Peri nodded and began to walk away. "Is that all?" Diana called after her.

Peri turned and smiled in a way that was neither true-born or freeborn. "You have given me my answer."

"May I come to see you in a few days, and you can explain it to me?"

"No."

Peri turned around and strode away, leaving Diana still saying, "Mother?"

* * *

The ceremony over, Marthe Pryde was alone in the large hall. She stared at the wall behind which Aidan's genetic legacy had taken its place as part of the gene pool.

She remembered that she and Aidan were to meet after the battle in the quarters of one or the other. It was too bad, she thought, that the meeting had never taken place. In some way, it would have rounded out both their lives, from the sibko to their brief reunion.

Well, she thought, it did not happen. Tears had sprung to her eyes during the giftakeritual, but she would forget Aidan Pryde now. There was too much to do.

A shuffling sound in the darkness made her rise quickly, ready to fend off any attack.

Looking more spectral than ever, Kael Pershaw came into the dim light.

"You did well, Marthe Pryde," he said. "The ceremony was stirring; the nominations for Bloodright were positively inspiring."

"What will happen now? What of the Clans? Must we be content to merely administer the conquered worlds while this fifteen-year truce drags on?"

"Oh, I am sure we will find reasons to fight someone. If not the I

"I know. The way of the Clan. But is that all, Kael Pershaw? Honor and combat and Bloodnames and Bloodrights?"

"Is that not enough for you, Marthe Pryde?"

"For me, Kael Pershaw? Yes, enough for me."

"Then it is enough."

"Seyla," Marthe whispered, then swept by Kael Pershaw out of the hall.

* * *

"I had not expected the ceremony to be quite so impressive," Joa

"And?"

"He acted like Kael Pershaw. He refused to speak with me. He just reached up his hand, made some tiny adjustment to that foul mask of his, and walked away. I hated that man when I served under him at Glory Station, and I hate him even more now."

"But you say you hate everyone, even me."

"Well, perhaps not you, Diana. You are no prize, but I do not feel a trace of hatred for you. As for everyone else, well, yes, I suppose I hate most of them."

"What about my father? What about Aidan Pryde?"

Joa

"Did you like him then?"

"No, I did not like him. Sometimes I hated him morethan anyone else."

Seeing the disappointment Diana could not hide, Joa

"But I think I hated him less than most," Joa

Diana smiled, then frowned.

"He tested out all the way," Joa

Glossary

Clan military unit designations are used throughout this book. The structure of each unit is as follows:

Point            1 'Mechs or 5 infantry