"Oh? Explain."
"The shame that he has brought down on the rest of the warriors of Glory Station may not be worth the victory."
"You consider defeat better than victory for reasons of, well, ethics? An intriguing view, Star Captain."
"I know nothing about ethics. I only know the shame."
"You have explained yourself honestly, Star Captain Joanna. I have no more questions."
Beck Qwabe's interrogation was brief and perfunctory. He obviously did not want to confuse the council members with any more of Joanna's strange responses, most of which were dangerous to his case. And at the moment, it looked as though any case he might conceivably make was rapidly fading from view.
As Joanna went back to her seat at the table, the Loremaster called on Aidan to bring forth his testimony. When Aidan stood up, his face was remarkably calm.
26
Aidan did not know what the outcome of this trial would be, but believed the justness of his own cause would prevail. There was a poem in one of the books of his secret library. It dealt with some old, now-forgotten hero whose strength was that of ten men because his heart was pure. Aidan could not be sure of the purity of his heart, but he did feel inordinately strong.
As Lenore Shi-Lu approached, he thought idly of what an odd pair they made—he so tall, she so small. Looking down at her, he experienced a strange attraction. It was not the first time he was attracted to a woman, of course, for there had been Marthe, Peri, and a few others he had known only briefly. This time seemed peculiar, however. This woman held his fate in her hands. He should neither respect her nor find her intriguing sexually, yet he felt both.
As Lenore Shi-Lu scanned the computer screen, Aidan took the opportunity to cast his eyes about the audience looking for Marthe. She was still there, watching impassively. And she did not look away. He wished he could talk to her.
"Star Commander Aidan," Lenore Shi-Lu said abruptly, startling him out of his reverie. The loudness and authority in her voice made his awareness of her sexuality drift away with her words. "Are you well?"
"I am fine."
"I thought we had lost you there for a moment. Before I begin my interrogation, the Loremaster informs me that he must speak to you first. Loremaster?"
The Loremaster glanced at Khan Elias Crichell, who signaled his assent with a nod. "Under the authorization of the Khan, I have made a formal poll of the members of the council," the Loremaster announced. "The outcome of the poll is that the council will agree to reduce all charges against you, including the charge of treason, in exchange for one thing."
The Loremaster paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. "If you will give up your claim to eligibility to compete for a Bloodname, we are prepared to excuse most of the other infractions. Before you respond, I must explain the reason for this unprecedented offer. Khan Elias Crichell is willing to verify your warrior status as long as you are not Blood-named. It is, he believes, a worthy compromise that endorses your performance of duty as a warrior while taking into account the fraudulent means by which you earned the status. Further, it is his judgment that, regardless of your origins, you have lost the right to compete for a Bloodname because you failed in your first and only official trial. He believes you are an estimable warrior who might ascend to the highest ranks of command. However, should you win a Bloodname, you would burden it with a serious taint. More than two-thirds of the Bloodnamed warriors present agree. What say you, Star Commander Aidan?"
Aidan's calm left him in a rush, and he wanted to let out a scream of rage. The next moment, he reminded himself of his vow to conduct himself with dignity. He did not want to give these warriors any satisfaction, any endorsement of their view that he was tainted, or a fraud, or such a coward that he would accept this insulting offer.
"With all due respect, Loremaster, to you, to all warriors present, and to the honored Khan Elias Crichell, I cannot accept."
The rest of his speech was drowned out by the commotion that immediately erupted. Some warriors stood up, shaking their fists. A few tried to climb over their tables to rush down at him. Others merely roared their disapproval. He heard their cries as a long, scrambled message, one voice weaving in and out of another. "Freebirth! You are a disgrace to . . . right have you to dishonor the . . . to be strangled until your face turns . . . guts ripped out and eaten by . . . dare you refuse the Khan's generous and . . . will kill you! I will ... cut them into a thousand pieces and—"
It was all the Loremaster could do to bring the uproar to a semblance of order. It took a long time, during which Aidan stood impassively, not looking at anyone, but not looking down either.
Joanna was impressed. Aidan kept surprising her, and this was one of the best shocks yet. She almost admired him for it. She knew that the offer, though presented in generous terms, was absurd, offensive. How could any trueborn warrior accept it? From the moment a trueborn dropped from the canister, he or she was geared to fulfill his or her destiny, especially through prowess in warfare, with the single goal of earning a Bloodname and contributing to the sacred gene pool.
The council's gesture was political, an attempt to extricate the Clan leadership from a serious dilemma. But Aidan had probably doomed himself with his refusal. Sentiment would go even stronger against him now. The Khan had backed him into a corner and directed the vote. This council session would, in effect, block Aidan from going after the Bloodname. Khan Elias Crichell was known for crafty political strategies. Well, Joanna thought, he had just brought off another coup.
Though some warriors continued to squirm in agitation, all the while speaking to one another in angry whispers, the room returned to relative quiet. Lenore Shi-Lu began her interrogation. Her first questions concerned autobiographical details, which Aidan provided succinctly and without emotion.
"Star Commander Aidan," she said suddenly and with no preparatory questions, "when you were posing as a freeborn here on Ironhold, were you aware Ter Roshak had violated Clan law?"
"I knew that I was not supposed to receive a second chance."
"Yet you took it when offered, quiaff?"
"Aff. I only wanted to be a warrior. I had failed the first time because I was too bold. If not for that, I would have succeeded in my Trial."
"You would have won, you say, if you had modified your strategy. Yet, how can a Clan warrior be toobold? Can you answer that?"
"No. I cannot. I believe I misstated. I lost, as cadets do, because I deserved to lose. I accept that."
"As you so easily accepted the second Trial."
"Yes, I suppose you could put it that way. Inquisitor, I have been a warrior for a while now. As a warrior, I can look back on that time and say, in all honesty, that I should have not been granted a second chance. But I also believe it is too late for the Clan to renege. I have served the Jade Falcons well, and as a warrior."
"Then in your estimation, pragmatism replaces proper procedure, quiaff?"
"Aff. Whatever happens here, I am a warrior."
Though spoken softly, Aidan's words reverberated through the chamber, which immediately erupted into a new babble of protests.
Aidan stood, alone and calm, at the center of a whirlwind. Joanna, in spite of herself, admired him.
He was right in a way, she thought. His brand of defiance, of standing up to others, of speaking his mind at all costs—that too was part of the Clan. The refusal to step back, that was the way of the Clan as much as any other rite or custom. Aidan never stepped back. Who could expect him to do so now, renouncing the means by which he had earned his warrior status? Though such speculation might upset some of the assembled warriors, it made perfect sense to Joanna.