Aidan squirmed more in the chair. The snakelike movements seemed to amuse Horse. "It's not the chair, is it?" he said. "It's that you're not in there with the rest, making your own bids. Instead, we have to sit out here, with other frees, separated from the trues."

Horse was right. Aidan resented that only trues could enter the command chamber for the bidding procedures. He sighed. "I suppose it does not matter. We will be bid away and left to view the battle from the barracks monitors. Or, worse, detached to supervise logistics so that the trueborns there can be sent to more importantstrategic areas."

He glanced down at the beeper on his belt. It was partially obscured by the dark band fitting over part of it, but the light in the center was still visible. When that light went out, it would indicate that Aidan's unit had been eliminated from the bid—the forces Kael Pershaw would use to defend against the Wolf attack. It would probably happen immediately after the Wolf batchall.Not only did Pershaw resent having freeborns under his command, but he was now furious with Aidan because of the Bast incident.

The Wolf Clan commander now came onto the screen. Dressed in full Clan regalia, the Star Colonel made an imposing figure.

"I am Star Colonel Mikel Furey of Clan Wolf's Sixteenth Battle Cluster. What forces defend the spawn of Kael Pershaw?"

An almost imperceptible shudder went through Kael Pershaw's body, and an eruption of shocked reactions flowed from the assembled trueborns. The Wolves were not here for Glory Station but for the genetic legacy of the base commander!

"What're they doing now?" Horse asked.

"Probably trying to absorb the impact of the Wolf Clan batchall.I do not know if Kael Pershaw expected that the prize of the battle would be the gene heritage of his own bloodline. It is an insult of the highest order."

"Insult? I thought trues regarded their blood heritage as something sacred. I think I'd like it if an enemy wanted to fight over my bloodline. Quite an honor. Of course, my blood heritage is a seamstress and a comm-tech. Not much to fight over there, and of course, it's difficult to obtain the genetic materials from them now."

"Do not be obscene."

"Is it obscene? I'm only referring to my own parents."

Aidan felt a twinge at hearing the word parents.

Some of his old trueborn legacies, feelings about free-borns and reactions to words referring to procreation, were so ingrained that they still rose up as instinctive responses. He hated the casual way frees tossed around words relating to the birth process and parental matters. Motherhood, womb, fathering—words like that. He, like all trueborns, knew no parents. Truebirths were born out of metal containers that they often liked to refer to as canisters or iron wombs. Any talk of lower-caste birthing and parental matters was disturbing, not only to Aidan but to all trues. Freeborns were often beaten for the mere mention of their so-called natural births.

For warriors, it was the canister that was natural, not the repellent and even dangerous procedures that produced freeborns. At any rate, warriors knew the theoretical advantages of their caste. Genetically engineered humans, it was said by the experts, represented the most perfect beings in the evolution of the race. Natural births, with their random genetics and casual DNA factors, could not possibly compete with the union of the genes from successful warriors that were "mated" scientifically in laboratory vessels.

Kael Pershaw regained his composure and responded.

"I am Star Colonel Kael Pershaw of Clan Jade Falcon, commanding the Glory Station Garrison Cluster. I will meet any foe on Glory Plain or in the skies above with the forces that I now designate."

Pershaw's hand moved to the console in front of him, swiftly slapping one button, then another, and then, after a second's hesitation, a third.

"Seyla," intoned Pershaw as his hand hit the transmit switch that would send the Clan Wolf Colonel a history of his forces.

"Seyla," intoned Star Colonel Mikel Furey as the Wolf Clan leader broke communications.

The batchallhad ended. Aidan glanced down at his beeper. The light had not gone out.

The batchallhad ended, and Kael Pershaw, as was his right, had submitted his bid. Aidan's beeper light had not gone out, which meant his Star was still part of the forces being bid to defend Glory Station.

* * *

At his own bidding place in the bridge of his DropShip, Dwillt Radick evaluated the forces Clan Jade Falcon had committed.

"I see he is using the new troops in the incoming DropShip," Radick said.

"Yes. You knew he would."

Radick nodded with some pleasure. He liked to hear Craig Ward give him due credit.

"Very well. As junior, Zoll must bid first. He is timid, so I expect him to use all three of the Cluster's Supernovas. That will give him thirty first-line BattleMechs to Kael Pershaw's thirty and a two-to-one advantage in Elementals. I will counter by bidding Bravo Supernova, Command Supernova, and a Star of fighters. That should be enough to destroy the DropShip. If Zoll is overly aggressive, I can eliminate four Points of Elementals and three Points of fighters."

"What of Clan Jade Falcon's Garrison Trinary?"

"Freebirths and has-beens. Nothing of any account. In fact I am glad Kael Pershaw did not eliminate all of his freebirth units from the defense. There is nothing like a few of those damned frees to stir up our troops to a fighting frenzy, quiaff?"

"Aff."

The comm screen in front of Radick split in half. On the top was the face of Star Colonel Mikel Furey, on the bottom that of Star Captain Zoll.

"Star Captain Dwillt Radick, Star Captain Zoll. You have heard the response of Star Colonel Kael Pershaw of Clan Jade Falcon. Star Captain Zoll, what forces do you bid to take the spawn of Kael Pershaw?"

Zoll pressed a series of buttons that made the icons for three Supernovas appear.

"I bid Supernova Third, Supernova Second, and Supernova Command."

" Star Captain Dwillt Radick, what is your counter?"

A smile appeared on Radick's face. As his fingers touched the buttons that eliminated the Cluster's Supernova Third, he looked over at Craig Ward. "We have him," Radick said.

* * *

"I had hoped he would take away one Trinary, then I could eliminate the Garrison Cluster," Kael Pershaw said to Lanja.

"I would not advise that," Lanja said. "We could spread ourselves too thin."

"But remember we know the terrain."

"All the more reason to stop now. In a high bid like this one, I think we can slaughter these Wolves. Accepting his bid will allow us to choose the fighting place. Meet them on Glory Plain with their backs to Blood Swamp, then push them into the swamp."

Pershaw nodded. "I see. Yes, let us close the bid."

* * *

No one was more surprised at Pershaw's selection of forces than Aidan. He had not expected his warriors to remain part of the defending forces.

"What is Kael Pershaw up to, I wonder?" he said to Horse.

"Perhaps he needs some freebirths to sacrifice."

"That is probably it. Well, I hope they place us right at the front. We need that kind of fight."

"You mean youneed it."

Aidan ran his hand along the edge of the dark band. "I think you are right, Horse, with your usual perspicacity. "

"Perspi—I don't know that word."

"Read more. Learn more words. And, for Kerensky's sake, stop using those contractions. Your language is debased enough."