"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 cannot guarantee it. But we will try."
"That is sufficient. Jorge, you are dismissed. Return to your unit and await my signal. If we cannot reach you on any communications line, we will send up a flare. When you see it, start your attack."
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 planning one final thrust. Repairs had brought the two Supernovas almost up to full strength again, though his Elemental force had fallen to twelve, little more than two Points. By his rights under bidding protocols, he called upon the BattleMechs of the Cluster's Supernova Third to reinforce his command, bringing his total 'Mech force up to twenty-three. He dismissed the aerospace fighters, however, for rank did not come to those who used more than enough strength to achieve objectives.
* * *
With all his forces already at their start points, Dwillt Radick reviewed his operations order for the next attack. He would launch a massive assault directly against Glory Station. He would then pursue the remnants of Persaw's forces all over the wretched terrain of Glory until the sweet moment of their inevitable surrender.
Radick was awaiting the final reports of his officers when Kael Pershaw's surprisingly placid voice came over the commlink. "Are you sleeping, Dwillt Radick? If you wish to give up your foolish quest and become my bondsman, I am ready to go through the rituals now. You cannot win, quiaff?"
"Kael Pershaw, I will not even bother to waste feeding you as our bondsman. You should surrender now so your gene heritage can find a dwelling place more suitable than a stinking Jade Falcon home."
"Home" was the common term for the scientifically supervised caches where genetic materials were stored. If Clan Wolf won this challenge, the Pershaw line would be ceremoniously transferred from the Jade Falcon vaults in the cache to those of the Wolf Clan.
"We are bored with your idle boasts, Dwillt Radick. If you wish to fight, fight. Combat instead of bombast, quiaff?"
"You had better be ready to count your casualties, Kael Pershaw."
Dwillt Radick slammed his chair backward and shouted at the command center personnel to activate all warriors. "This will be the final battle before we claim victory," he said, then watched as the communications personnel swung into action. They were the heart, the center of the battle, coordinating information among Supernovas, keeping the flanks steady as the center moved ahead in the wedge formation that Radick favored. He urged them on one more time before racing to his own Mad Dog.He hoped to meet Kael Pershaw in a one-on-one engagement. It would be the greatest of pleasures to slice Pershaw's 'Mech in two from the head downward, halving Pershaw along with his machine.
* * *
In his own command dome, Kael Pershaw nodded at his subordinates, a signal that he had prodded Dwillt Radick into action. He then went directly to his new 'Mech, a shiny Warhawkwhose regular pilot was injured. Looking up at the 'Mech, with its flat head and double extended-range PPCs in each arm, he wondered, as always, if this would be the 'Mech in which he would die. If so, he would not mind. It would be the death he had always craved. Sometimes Pershaw believed he must have come out of the canister wishing for an honorable death.
* * *
Joanna scoffed at Aidan's strategy.
"Attack from behind? That is absurd. As soon as we emerge from the swamp, their sensors will pick us up, and they will turn around and massacre us."
"Clan Wolf will be advancing with all their forces," Aidan said. "Their rear will be vulnerable. Only think of how hard it is to change a 'Mech's direction once an assault has begun. No, I suspect that we will meet no more than some guards left behind, perhaps just Elementals."