Roshak glanced around the room, silent now during his eulogy to Ramon Mattlov. Lenore Shi-Lu quietly broke the stillness: "Go on, Falconer Commander."
"It was this that fed my desire to see Cadet Aidan succeed. It was why I prodded him, pushed him, and made sure my officers did the same. His successes in early tests were denigrated instead of praised to spur him to try all the harder. His lapses were magnified so that he would brood on them and seek ways to eliminate them the next time around. During that time I had few actual encounters with him, but I do recall once coming upon him suddenly when he was standing guard. For a moment, I mistook him for Ramon Mattlov. I knew then that if Cadet Aidan did not win his Trial, it would be a dishonor to the memory of Ramon Mattlov."
"I am not certain I follow your reasoning, Falconer Commander," Lenore Shi-Lu interrupted. "In the Clan, as you know, metaphysics are discouraged. How might the very real achievements of Ramon Mattlov be dishonored by a cadet who had a mere physical resemblance to him?"
For the first time Ter Roshak looked flustered. "You misunderstand, Inquisitor. His resemblance was not a merephysical one. I believed him to be the embodiment of all Ramon Mattlov had been. That meant he must be the best in all Clan combat activities. When the young man failed his Trial of Position, I could not accept it. He should have won. Anyone who examines the records or tapes of that test would agree.
"Even then, I would not have interfered if Cadet Aidan, by now astech Aidan, had not escaped from Ironhold at the first possible opportunity and begun to seek his own fortune. In similar circumstances, Ramon Mattlov would have done the same. That was when I knew what I must do. I had to create the circumstances for another Trial."
"And to do that," Lenore Shi-Lu interrupted again, "you found it necessary to arrange for the death of a freeborn to give a new identity and another chance at the Trial to this cadet you favored so much?"
"That is essentially correct."
"Essentially?"
Ter Roshak seemed to hesitate before responding. "I did not merely arrangefor the freeborn's death. I personally planted real explosive charges in a training minefield. When the only survivor of the explosions was the freeborn cadet whose place Cadet Aidan was to take, I killed the cadet, too."
Aidan was surprised. He had not known the extent of Roshak's personal involvement.
"We are grateful for your honesty, Falconer Commander, but in truth, the deaths of a few freeborn cadets have little bearing on this case. The issue is whyyou engaged in deceit, not how.Are we to understand, then, that loyalty to Ramon Mattlov underlay all your actions regarding Star Commander Aidan?"
"Expressed so succinctly, your statement diminishes the gravity of my objectives, but what you say is quite true. Loyalty is the way of the Clan, and my loyalty to Ramon Mattlov overrode other considerations."
"Loyalty to a deadcommanding officer, I am forced to point out. Loyalty in the extreme. Meritorious on some level, I am sure, but not worth defying Clan law."
The approving murmurs in the hall seemed to endorse Lenore Shi-Lu's words.
"If you so believe, Inquisitor, I would not attempt to disagree."
"Why not, Falconer Commander? When you have disobeyed Clan law, why not disagree with one of its loyal minions?"
"With all due respect, Inquisitor, I believe I have established my motives in the actions for which I was called here. Judgment follows. I have no more to say."
Ter Roshak did, however, speak more, responding tersely to Beck Qwabe's questions, which Roshak's own previous testimony had rendered irrelevant. Foreseeing the outcome of the case, Qwabe was merely going through the motions, presenting the questions submitted by those warriors sympathetic to the Advocate case. He had been surprised at the numbers who seemed to support the defendants until he noted that most of them were of Ter Roshak's generation, aging warriors in their last years of service. Roshak had called in some favors, Qwabe was certain. The vote would be closer than Qwabe had originally expected.
When all the testimony was complete, the Loremaster polled the council members. Of the 493 warriors who voted, 372 voted against Ter Roshak and Aidan. Joanna, whose case was considered separately, received approval from 167 of the warriors, with 326 against.
As soon as the Loremaster announced the vote, both Aidan and Ter Roshak stood up. Roshak, as senior officer, would speak first.
"I do not accept the judgment of this council. I demand a Trial of Refusal."
"I also," Aidan shouted.
The Khan nodded wearily, then signaled to the Lore-master. Most of the warriors in the room recognized that the officers of the court were not surprised by the request. Aidan speculated on the likelihood that Roshak had called in favors from old comrades to influence the proportions of the vote to acceptable levels. He quickly calculated that the odds against them in the Trial of Refusal were three-to-one. They might be formidable odds, but at least, Aidan thought, it gave him a chance. Even before coming here, he had planned to invoke the Trial of Refusal, at that time figuring the odds against him would be much worse.
A Trial of Refusal was the right of any warrior to protest a judgment against him by the council. Conceived in the early days of the Clan, it permitted a warrior to verify his cause or his case by going into combat against some of the best available warriors of the Clan; the number of opponents was based on the odds of the vote. Because the vote against Aidan and Ter Roshak was three-to-one, they would have to face six warriors in their Trial of Refusal. Tough odds, Aidan thought, but with some skill and a well-modified 'Mech, they could be overcome. They were certainly better than the six- or seven-to-one he might have faced if not for Tier Roshak's political acumen.
As the Loremaster announced the terms of the Trial of Refusal, Joanna astounded everyone by rising to her feet with a request to speak.
"Yes, Star Captain Joanna?" the Loremaster said.
"My name is tainted by the judgment against me. Two-thirds of the warriors present believe I have committed a wrong. I will not have that. I demand to be included in the Trial of Refusal."
"But, Star Captain, your vote was different. With only two out of every three voting against you, you need not fight at three-to-one odds."
"I wish to. I am implicated in their deeds. I will exonerate myself. And the odds mean nothing to me. What is one BattleMech more or less?"
The officers of the court conferred, then the Lore-master announced that the Trial of Refusal would take place in two days, with the three tainted warriors meeting nine of their Jade Falcon judges in a contest of BattleMechs.
As they left the chamber, Aidan caught up with Ter Roshak. "When will we discuss tactics?" he asked.
"You presume too much, as always. We will discuss nothing. I have no intention of cooperating with you. Why did you not hold your tongue, as I instructed you?"
"You should know that better than I. No true warrior can pass up the opportunity to win a Bloodname. I must have mine."
"What a fool! You will not live to compete in the Trial of Bloodright. I will take great pleasure in watching you die on the battlefield. Goodbye, Star Commander Aidan. We will not speak again."