Diana leaned sullenly against the outer wall of a supply hut, staring with unseeing eyes at the activity around her. The people of Vreeport had been transported to the occupation forces' stronghold. Many of them were being herded into various temporary buildings, to be classified and reassigned. Aidan Pryde had ruled that the Vreeport rebels would be separated from the rest of the citizens and sent to other settlements.

After evacuating Freeport, the conquerors' last sight of the city was the massive explosion that destroyed it, sending up a huge mushroom cloud. Though Aidan thought it wasteful to leave behind Vreeport's arsenal of weapons and ammo, he knew that reprisal against the uprising was imperative, and he wanted the act to stand as an unforgettable symbol of Clan dominance. The leveling of Vreeport, like the devastation of cities and countries throughout history, would be a dramatic lesson for everyone on Quarell.

Joanna's dry comment on the matter was that so few people lived on this underpopulated planet that Aidan's grand symbol might not have all the impact he hoped.

Diana pulled away from her position by the wall. "I cannot put into words how I felt when he chastised me after I had saved him and the hostages and—"

Joanna took Diana by the shoulders and shook her lightly. "Do not let your anger run away with you, MechWarrior. We have all experienced the disapproval of a commanding officer. We all know what it is to make a supreme effort, only to be criticized for it later by the one person whose approval might mean something. I grew up in a sibko, Diana, so anything to do with family feeling simply escapes my understanding. Perhaps being disciplined by a disapproving commander who is also one's father is—"

"I am not looking for approvalfrom anyone. I wish to avenge an insult, an undeserved one."

"Was it really undeserved? There were standing orders and we ignored them. That is why you have no valid grounds for an honor duel, Diana. And that should be the end of it, quiaff?"

Diana nodded her agreement, but the look on her face was as sullen and unconvinced as before.

As the two of them crossed the parade ground, Joanna detected some excited movement among the techs, a scurrying back and forth, a hum of agitated talk. She stopped one and asked her what was going on.

"There's a DropShip arriving in this sector. They say it is traveling under order from Khan Chistu himself."

What in the name of Kerensky, Joanna wondered, would Khan Chistu want with a mop-up unit on one of the already-conquered planets? Nothing good that she could think of.

* * *

Aidan received the news of the DropShip's arrival from Horse.

"I tried to contact them," Horse said, "but they refuse all messages. All I got was a voice-only from the DropShip commander saying that a representative of Khan Chistu would pay you a visit later today."

Aidan looked across the parade ground where some of the Vreeport citizens were being processed. Crossing his line of vision were Joanna and the feisty MechWarrior, Diana.

For a moment he forgot about the Khan's representative and wondered if he had been too hard on Diana. She had been brave and saved not only his life, but who knew how many others? He had noted those facts for her codex even while recording the violation of standing orders.

Who should understand better than Aidan Pryde, something of a hothead during his own military career? His codex recorded the many times when he had followed his own instincts and urges in combat situations, those many times when his valiant efforts had been rewarded only by reprimands. Now that he was the commander, he saw the need for careful evaluation of all warriors, but was often uncomfortable with the duty.

Anyway, this Diana would survive, he was sure. And from what he had seen of her so far, he was sure she would do more than survive. She would excel.

He turned away from the window, these thoughts still on his mind. "What do you think, Horse? Should I have gone in and razed Vreeport the moment the people rebelled?"

"That is what I would have done. But that is all past. Why do you still think of it now?"

"I am wondering about Khan Chistu's representative. Why send someone here? Does it have to do with some policy of mine for which I am to be reprimanded? It is a long trip to take for a simple bureaucratic censure, after all."

"Now that I have had a chance to study you trueborns up close for so long, nothing surprises me in what anyof you do."

Aidan merely nodded and went back to his duties, oblivious to Horse's sarcasm regarding trueborns after all these years.

It was several hours later when Horse returned. "The shuttle from the DropShip has landed. I would have come for you sooner, but they gave us no advance warning. The Khan's representative is on his way here in a VTOL."

Aidan left his office and walked to the parade ground to await the tilt-rotor craft. It appeared in the west, above some trees, and gently settled onto the landing platform. An aide assisted the Khan's representative from the VTOL, for the latter seemed barely in one piece. He limped and one of his arms was held stiffly at his side, as though useless. A half-mask covered one side of his face. Many Clan warriors used such half-masks to cover disfiguring injuries.

Aidan did not recognize the Khan's representative until he was only a few steps away. He might have noticed something familiar in the man's posture or bearing, but that would have been all.

He recognized him well enough now. No matter how disfigured, here was Kael Pershaw, a man Aidan could never forget. Years ago, when Aidan was still posing as a freeborn, Kael Pershaw had been his commanding officer on a backwater planet named Glory. Though that world did not live up to its name, it was the place where Aidan had first found his own glory as a warrior. The Glory Station battle over Kael Pershaw's genetic legacy had put Aidan on a direct line to winning his Bloodname.

He and Kael Pershaw had hated each other almost on sight. And if the steady glare in the man's visible eye was any indication, Aidan guessed that Kael Pershaw's sentiments had not changed much.

Looking at him, remembering him, Aidan discovered that his own sentiments were equally unchanged after all these years. From the moment he recognized his former commander, Aidan despised him all over again.

17

"May I offer you a drink?" Aidan said, once he and Kael Pershaw were settled in his office.

"You can offer, but there is no point in my accepting. My stomach is, well, reconstructed, and my sense of taste is useless now. I am completely sustained by pill and injection. When I have thirst, I merely suck on a wet cloth, and it does all I need. But go ahead and serve yourself."

"No. I have only occasional use for spirits. Now, seeing you again, I prefer to remain cold sober. I notice you are a Star Colonel."

Pershaw's eyebrows rose. "A mereStar Colonel, do you mean? Yes, if I were still in command of a fighting unit, I would have a higher rank. But age, as well as"—he made a head gesture that seemed to take in the game leg, the stiff arm, and the damage to his face—"injuries have made me unfit for command. Officers of advisory capacity may not outrank commanding officers still in the field. Thus, I am demoted to Star Colonel, the rank, I believe, I held when we last encountered each other."

"That is correct. In a way, I have you to thank for my present success."

Grimacing, Pershaw shifted uneasily in his chair, his deformities obviously making all movement painful. "You are being ironic, I trust. Do you credit me for my disciplinary treatment of you?"