The ceremony broke up after Joanna, acting as Lore-master for the unit, led them in some traditional Clan rituals. Aidan walked to the observation post from which he would supervise the descent of Trinary Alpha to the surface of Tukayyid, where its mission was to establish a secure landing zone so that the DropShip could transport the rest of the Falcon Guards to the battlefield.

MechWarrior Diana touched his arm. "If so many of the Falcon Guards are here because they are aged, insubordinate, or misfit, then why am I here?" she asked. "I am young, loyal, a good Clan warrior. Why am I here?"

Aidan nearly smiled at her. Perhaps it was her resemblance to Marthe, perhaps it was the sympathy he felt for her warrior style. Whatever it was, Aidan felt right about this young woman. It was not a sexual feeling, but much more like the bond between him and his old friend, Horse.

"Why am I here?" she asked again.

"Because I want you here," he said and walked away.

Diana looked after him. Aidan could not know that she felt for him much the same as he did for her. In that instant all her doubts about him faded. Now she felt right about him. Diana felt right about her father.

22

In final assault orbit the Jade Falcon DropShip Raptorsped through the blackness of space. Aboard her, Star Colonel Aidan Pryde looked out the observation port and surveyed the planet where the fate of the Clans' return to the Inner Sphere would be decided, the planet Tukayyid.

In the officer briefings he had learned that Tukayyid was primarily an agricultural world. Orbital recon sweeps displayed rich fields intricately patterned with varying crops, dense orchards of fruit trees, mountainsides covered with wild berries. Well, neither the Clans nor ComStar would lose the battle because of hunger, that was for certain.

The Raptornow moved from the sunlit day side to the shrouded night side of Tukayyid, the site of the Falcon Guards landing zone. Meteorological reports indicated that the ground temperature was pleasant, a comfortable 38 degrees C. Aidan could imagine himself standing on one of the rich fields, cooled by a gentle breeze and smelling the grain-scented air. Part of him thought it might be pleasant to shuck off the shell of war and find peace in a pastoral kind of life. Though he had not the slightest interest in the work of farming, the peacefulness of the image was what fed his fantasies of a life in which the machines of war would pass by overhead without touching his countryside.

But Aidan could not remain long in mere daydreams. He knew how unsuited he would be to a pastoral existence. When he tried to imagine himself milking whatever creatures might need it on this planet, the image was so absurd that the longing for the quiet life deserted him like a stray animal striking out on its own.

Almost at the same moment, Horse came up beside him. "The DropShip commander reports that the path-finding Trinary will begin launch operations in two minutes. Joanna's Trinary reports that they are secure in their pods and ready. Do you wish to oversee the drop?"

"I will watch the descent of Joanna's Trinary, but she will have operational control of both the drop and the landing of the Raptor.Why do you smile, Horse?"

"Your delegation of duties. I like it."

"You get older, you learn."

"You get older, you die, too. Either way, there is a mighty accomplishment."

Aidan shook his head. "I should never have allowed you access to my books. You are showing a dangerous fondness for epigrammatic speech."

While they spoke, a rumble began to reverberate through the floors of the DropShip as the fifteen BattleMechs of Joanna's Trinary were launched into space. He watched the ablative cocoons containing 'Mechs and their pilots descend from the Raptorand enter Tukayyid's atmosphere. The drop had a certain beauty to it, especially in the darkness. What little light there was reflected off the underside of the Raptoras its main engine continued to burn to allow it to follow the flashes of light that was Alpha Trinary. In fact, an uninformed observer on the ground might have mistaken the flashes for flickering stars instead of the potent Stars they actually were. More flashes came from the several squadrons of aerospace fighters that darted, it seemed, from point to point in a precise pattern—keeping a close guard on the descending pods. Within a minute's time Aidan had lost sight of the Trinary. Within ten Joanna reported.

"Falcon Guard Trinary Alpha has landed, sir. Area is secured, and marker beacons are up. Your orders."

Aidan could feel the Raptorbuffet a bit as it entered the thick lower atmosphere of Tukayyid.

"Star Captain Joanna, maintain security around the landing zone. After the Raptorhas landed, your orders are to supervise the offloading of the Cluster. Assemble them in Sector VI-C, and I will join you there."

"Yes, sir. Bravo and Charlie Stars, I want a three-kilometer security zone set up around the LZ. Bravo, prepare to assist in disembarking the incoming BattleMechs. I will transmit deployment patterns shortly."

Knowing the landing was in good hands, Aidan ordered Horse to his 'Mech in the hold of the ship. Aidan walked alone to his machine.

Entering the Raptor's'Mech bay, Aidan approached his own 'Mech, his Timber Wolf.He slowly scrutinized the BattleMech, his attention falling for a moment on its large swooping-falcon insignia. He had ordered that the design be repainted to add an almost luminescent green to the fierce gaze of the falcon's eyes. Its lines had been streamlined, too, according to his orders. The silver paint on the sword the falcon held between its sharp-clawed talons was also designed to gleam. The same image had been duplicated in cloth patches on all the Falcon Guard uniforms.

Aidan liked the falcon's new look. The legendary bird was revived, like the Falcon Guards themselves. He wanted every Com Guard warrior who went down to go with the falcon image in his mind. He wanted survivors to talk about the image as they limped off the battlefield. He wanted the image of the swooping falcon to represent the combat skills of the Falcon Guards. It was a large order, he knew, but he was more and more confident that the Falcon Guards would show their mettle in the battle that loomed so near.

Aidan thought of how Marthe had called him the jade phoenix after his final Bloodright Trial. She had been trying to say that, like the mythical bird, Aidan kept falling into the fires of failure, then reemerging in strength, a new creature who soared high for a long while before falling again.

"You see," she had said, "the mythical phoenix had only one chance to rise from the flames; it seems that you, the jade phoenix, continually fall into the flames and reemerge. You failed in your Trial of Position, then were renewed as a freeborn who succeeded. You received poor and insulting assignments, then proved your worth in the Glory Station battle, then you became the phoenix again here in the Trial of Bloodright. Who knows how many times you can fly out from that mythic conflagration?"

What would she say to his new jade phoenix revival?

Perhaps Aidan would find out, for Marthe would be commanding one of the Jade Falcon Clusters on Tukayyid.

With that thought in mind, he let the howdah carry him up to the Timber Wolfscockpit, where he relieved the tech. Settling into the command couch, easing the neurohelmet onto his head, testing the controls, looking out the viewport at the darkened 'Mech bay and the rest of the silent Falcon Guard BattleMechs, Aidan felt as if everything in his life were right. No jinxed Timber Wolfcould prevent another rise of the jade phoenix.