Later, after her citations, she thought back to that moment and wished that her voice had not, like her BattleMech, been disabled.
* * *
Star Colonel Aidan Pryde noticed with some amusement that neither his primary screen nor his secondary one showed any information. The effect, in this dark Tukayyidan night, was something like pillow-fighting in the dark. He was shooting off clusters, launching missiles, firing pulsing beams at targets that were only shadows in his viewport. Perhaps Horse had been right about this Timber Wolf.Perhaps it was jinxed. Something in it always seemed to be going off track or not functioning at all.
"You cannot get back to the Raptor,Aidan Pryde," Kael Pershaw said. "Why in the name of the Kerenskys did you delay? Just to allow time for one Elemental to rescue one MechWarrior? It makes no sense to me."
"Remain puzzled, Kael Pershaw."
Aidan wondered if he were really hearing Kael Pershaw or whether the voice was in his mind. It must be the real thing. No one would want to imagine Kael Pershaw.
What would Pershaw say if he knew that the rescued MechWarrior was Aidan's daughter? Kael Pershaw, after all, was one of the most virulent haters of freeborns.
Aidan had learned that back on Glory Station when he had endured Pershaw's trenchant and devastating insults against all freeborns.
The two of them might even have a long argument about how the rescue was not the way of the Clan. Aidan might have to explain about the jade phoenix. He might have to say that the rescue was another incarnation of the rise from the flames, this time with Diana being given the chance.
All Aidan Pryde knew was that he was satisfied about the MechWarrior's rescue. That was enough. There was no time now to consider anything else.
When a cluster of missiles exploded against the Timber Wolfsright leg, he felt it shift a bit. When he tried to make the leg move, it did not respond. What did it matter? There was nowhere he could go.
He wondered how much ammunition he had left.
"To your right, Aidan Pryde, fifteen degrees," Kael Pershaw said. Aidan fired.
"Good. A head hit. That one is down. It was a Rifleman.Now, twenty-five degrees the opposite direction. Launch a missile salvo. Good. Direct hit. You hit one in the torso, the other near the cockpit. I think it is going down."
A blast of heat rushed over him like wave. The targeting system for his right-arm weapons shorted out, then the one for his left. He was out of missiles. Another hit on his legs made the surface of his Timber Wolfseem to shudder. But it did not fall.
Kael Pershaw's voice had stopped. Aidan discovered that the small laser in his left torso still worked. He kept firing it. Outside the viewport there was a huge flash. He had hit something.
There was no way he could come out of this battle alive. The flames would envelop him again. For one of the few times in his life, he laughed. Firing blindly, he laughed again when he felt the reverberations of a nearby ComStar BattleMech exploding. Another blast, and another 'Mech went down.
His death could not be fearful, he thought. Was he not, as Marthe had said, the jade phoenix?
Epilogue
"Joanna, when you told my father the truth about me— why did you do it?"
"I am not sure. I could not let the moment pass. Perhaps I have grown so old that my judgment is impaired."
"I would not say that. I mean, look at the way you whipped the Falcon Guards into shape, then ran the unit with so much precision during the Tukayyid battles."
"I did my duty, Diana."
"More than that. What of all the commendations you won?"
"Meaningless. We lost the battle, did we not? We must now accept a disgusting fifteen-year truce period, playing the part of mere occupation troops on the worlds we conquered instead of advancing victoriously toward Terra."
"All true, but the Falcon Guards distinguished themselves on Tukayyid."
"And most died, too."
"Yes, but no one can say the Jade Falcons did not fight well. Except for Clans Wolf and Ghost Bear, all the others lost their fights. Our campaign was at least judged a draw."
"A draw is a loss for the Clans, especially since Clan Wolf was victorious. And I am no better off now than before. They have demoted me back to Star Commander."
"And what about the honors awarded my father?"
Star Commander Joanna paused for a moment. "Yes," she said, "They were impressive. Very impressive indeed."
* * *
Diana, Joanna, Horse, and the remnants of the Falcon Guards were called back to the Jade Falcon planet of Ironhold. Not having been informed of the reason for the summoning, they were astounded by the respect with which they were addressed and the honors showered on them once they arrived. During the course of the ceremonies, they heard words that the Falcon Guards, led by courageous Star Colonel Aidan Pryde, had so distinguished themselves in the Tukayyid campaign that they had earned a prominent place in the history of the Clans, even some lines in The Remembrance.Although the name of Twycross was never mentioned officially, it was clear that the shame of the Great Gash had been washed clean.
But the best ceremony was saved for last. The Falcon Guards were summoned to a large building that stood alone on the shore of a beach whose sands shone even whiter in the bright sun. The light glittered and danced over the sands almost as much as it did on the waters.
The broad two-storey building stretched from one end of the beach to the other, built just in front of a landscaped, almost sculpted, woodland preserve. The trees were heavy with leaves and their bark looked scrubbed. As the group flew in over the building, Diana caught sight of a colorful garden nestled deep among the trees.
"What is this place?" she asked Horse, as they stood in front of the building's thick gray metal doors. Diana was enthralled by the door's many engraved symbols, none of which she could interpret.
"It is a gene storage center. Genes of Jade Falcon warriors are kept in large underground vaults, where they are tended by the scientist caste."
"Horse, you have been speaking without contractions for a long while. You are impressed, I can see that. Why?"
Horse only shrugged at first, then seemed to reflect briefly. "I am not sure, but I think it has something to do with forbidden territories."
Diana frowned. "Forbidden territories? What does that mean?"
"Diana, we are freeborns, and no one wants us ever to forget it. Trues walk among us like gods, dispensing favors and granting privileges. Their way may be wrong, but it is the life we live and to which we adapt, especially those of us who are warriors. I would change it if I could."
"I would not. I am happy enough as a warrior."
"Happy, a strange word. But yes, you are meant for exactly the life you lead. As am I. But we will never be the gods. That is the way of the Clans."
"I should not want to be a god. All this genetic stuff and the honor that goes with it, it is too much responsibility. I prefer to mount the cockpit of a BattleMech and do my job. That is all the life I need."
Horse's eyebrows raised quizzically. "You are young. And lucky. You have yet to experience some of what I have as a freeborn or what your father did when he pretended to be one of us."
"Horse! You knew he was my father. How? Did Joanna tell you?"
The bearded warrior made a face. "Hardly. Joanna is not likely to impart any important secrets to me. No, I saw his face in yours the first time I laid eyes on you."