Her predecessor as nameholder, Teukros Pryde, had accomplished a list of achievements that was the envy of any warrior. Teukros Pryde had, in fact, killed many times to earn that reputation. And this Aidan, a true-born who had failed his Trial of Position because of an arrogant attempt to attack his three opponents simultaneously, who had to pose as a freebirth in order to become a warrior at all—what right had he to take his own tainted name into a struggle for such a proud Bloodname? Even in the unlikely event he won the name, his previous history would tarnish it even before he could ever serve it as warrior.
Listening to Aidan recite his history amid the incredulous expressions of his listeners, Joanna contained a rage that might have wiped out half the Jade Falcons assembled if she were to loose it. She knew she was far from the ideal of a Clan warrior. Though she had striven to be one all her life, her fierce animosities had too often consumed her when she should have been honing her skills instead. It was not just a matter of distaste for everyone she met. Had it been only that, her career as a warrior might have gone forward with more certainty. But, no, she hated everyone. Oh, she had experienced a few temporary alliances back in sibko days, but when those companions had flushed out of training, she had despised them for their inferiority. It was true that she had felt some respect for perhaps three commanding officers, but each had inevitably fallen in her esteem, whether because he did not fight hard enough, complain loud enough, or kill skillfully enough. She hated Nomad, too, but that at least was a cheerful hatred, one she rather enjoyed. Indeed, they would be back to exchange barbs as soon as he was well again.
There was probably no one in Clan Jade Falcon who hated as fiercely as Joanna did, nor any who hated as well.
Yet she knew that with a more balanced view of life, she might have won a Bloodname. She vividly remembered a recent attempt, when she had been one of the final contenders. In previous attempts, she had failed the Trial of Bloodright earlier, That was either her shame or an indication she was being saved for some later Bloodname prize. She could always hope for the latter. But at twenty-eight her time was running out. In the Clans, old warriors did not win Bloodnames, but usually ended up as volunteer cannon fodder in some battle diversion.
As she studied Aidan's calm in claiming the Pryde bloodline, she hated him more than ever. During the training years on Ironhold, she had sometimes believed that, of all that sibko, Aidan was her personal curse. Subsequent events had done little to change her thinking. If it were not contrary to the way of the Clans, she would have run up to him this very moment, her knife drawn to slit his worthless throat.
Kael Pershaw was rarely, if ever, at a loss for words, but right now he had not a clue what might come out of his mouth when, according to ritual, this Jorge/Aidan reached the end of his claim. He regretted not having Lanja near to send him the kind of signs and signals that had so often helped him render judgment. It was the first time Pershaw had thought of her since announcing her death to this piece of decaying matter speaking before him. He would not recall her again for some time.
Finally Aidan's speech came to an end.
"And that is the word of a trueborn warrior of the Jade Falcon Clan, direct, blunt, and true in every detail. My case is just. I would leave this duty to compete for the Aeneas Pryde Bloodname."
Aidan looked around at the others, as though they might suddenly affirm his claim by solemnly uttering, "Seyla," the ritual response of affirmation. No one spoke.
"What is your judgment, Star Colonel Kael Pershaw?" asked Star Captain Shan Zeke, who was performing the role of Loremaster. He looked as astonished as every other person in the gathering, except for Aidan and Joanna.
Kael Pershaw scrutinized the assembly, then shouted: "I cannot make a proper judgment unless someone steps forward to endorse the claim of this ... of this warrior."
When Horse immediately came forward, he looked every centimeter the freeborn he was. At least with him the warriors gathered here knew there would be no controversy about birth origin.
"I know this to be true, Star Colonel," Horse said. "I trained with Star Commander Aidan after he was transferred to my unit. I recognized him as a trueborn because I'd faced him in an earlier training exercise."
Horse went on to tell the story in detail. Certain warriors flinched when Horse mentioned how he, a mere freeborn, had nearly beaten Cadet Aidan by planting a satchel charge on the back of a 'Mech shell the other was using in the exercise.
"MechWarrior Horse, is your memory so sharp that you could be sure this Jorge was the cadet you fought in that training exercise?"
"Yes. And when I confronted him, he admitted his identity to me."
Kael Pershaw slowly shook his head. "No, MechWarrior Horse, that is not enough. It verifies only that one apparent freebirth by name of Jorge transferred into your unit after an unfortunate accident on a training field. That he was the Cadet Aidan you battled earlier is not proven. Further, your evidence does not verify any other points of Star Commander Jorge's story. Step back, MechWarrior Horse."
Horse looked as though he wished to say more, but then he shrugged, performed a ritual salute to Pershaw, and walked away. Many of the warriors growled and sneered as he passed, making no secret of their disapproval that he had come forward at all. In response, Horse twisted his mouth into an obvious expression of defiance.
"Does any other member of this assembly verify the rightful claim of this warrior?" Kael Pershaw asked.
The silence hung heavy, as though not a single warrior moved or breathed. When Pershaw let his gaze sweep the throng, the rustle of his cape, the clank of his adornments echoed all the way to the rear of the crowd.
The next sound was the shuffle of feet as Aidan turned to face the Glorry Stateion warriors.
"Yes," a voice said finally, "I can verify this man's true identity." Roughly pushing several subordinate warriors aside, Joanna reluctantly made her way forward.
22
Joanna had weighed her responsibility against her shrewdness, and responsibility had come heavier on the scale of her judgment. Or perhaps she was merely out of her mind. She had no special desire to verify Aidan's claim, but it wasthe truth. Worse, she was one of the few people in the universe who knew it, and unfortunately for her, she happened to be at Glory Station exactly at the moment when she couldverify it. If it were only up to her, she could happily have remained quiet and watched the despicable pseudo-freebirth gag on his own words. Oh, she knew that eventually he could have proved his identity through genetic tests, but it would have taken so long that the Bloodname battles for the Aeneas Pryde name would long have been over. Then would have come a period of shame. No matter what proof existed of his lineage, Aidan's freeborn years would mark him as an inferior warrior, despite his birth. She would have enjoyed witnessing even a fraction of that. But it was not fair to remain quiet at the moment of his claim or to ignore whatever fate had brought her to Glory Station, where she now forced her feet to take her ever nearer the platform where Kael Pershaw stood waiting.