Horse went on to tell the story in detail. Certain warriors flinched when Horse mentioned how he, a mere freeborn, had nearly beaten Cadet Aidan by planting a satchel charge on the back of a 'Mech shell the other was using in the exercise.

"MechWarrior Horse, is your memory so sharp that you could be sure this Jorge was the cadet you fought in that training exercise?"

"Yes. And when I confronted him, he admitted his identity to me."

Kael Pershaw slowly shook his head. "No, MechWarrior Horse, that is not enough. It verifies only that one apparent freebirth by name of Jorge transferred into your unit after an unfortunate accident on a training field. That he was the Cadet Aidan you battled earlier is not proven. Further, your evidence does not verify any other points of Star Commander Jorge's story. Step back, MechWarrior Horse."

Horse looked as though he wished to say more, but then he shrugged, performed a ritual salute to Pershaw, and walked away. Many of the warriors growled and sneered as he passed, making no secret of their disapproval that he had come forward at all. In response, Horse twisted his mouth into an obvious expression of defiance.

"Does any other member of this assembly verify the rightful claim of this warrior?" Kael Pershaw asked.

The silence hung heavy, as though not a single warrior moved or breathed. When Pershaw let his gaze sweep the throng, the rustle of his cape, the clank of his adornments echoed all the way to the rear of the crowd.

The next sound was the shuffle of feet as Aidan turned to face the Glorry Stateion warriors.

"Yes," a voice said finally, "I can verify this man's true identity." Roughly pushing several subordinate warriors aside, Joanna reluctantly made her way forward.

22

Joanna had weighed her responsibility against her shrewdness, and responsibility had come heavier on the scale of her judgment. Or perhaps she was merely out of her mind. She had no special desire to verify Aidan's claim, but it wasthe truth. Worse, she was one of the few people in the universe who knew it, and unfortunately for her, she happened to be at Glory Station exactly at the moment when she couldverify it. If it were only up to her, she could happily have remained quiet and watched the despicable pseudo-freebirth gag on his own words. Oh, she knew that eventually he could have proved his identity through genetic tests, but it would have taken so long that the Bloodname battles for the Aeneas Pryde name would long have been over. Then would have come a period of shame. No matter what proof existed of his lineage, Aidan's freeborn years would mark him as an inferior warrior, despite his birth. She would have enjoyed witnessing even a fraction of that. But it was not fair to remain quiet at the moment of his claim or to ignore whatever fate had brought her to Glory Station, where she now forced her feet to take her ever nearer the platform where Kael Pershaw stood waiting.

"Youhave evidence, Star Captain Joanna?"

"Yes. I was this warrior's training officer on Iron-hold."

A murmur passed through the crowd. Aidan had omitted all names from his tale, concealing Joanna's participation in it.

"Then he speaks the truth, quiaff?"

"Aff."

"And you have knowledge of the deception he describes, the masking of his identity to participate in the second Trial?"

From the moment Aidan had begun his claim, this was the moment, the question she had been dreading.

"I not only know about it, Star Colonel Kael Pershaw," Joanna said, "I participated in it."

That revelation produced a shock as great as any of Aidan's. Few of the warriors present knew Joanna, who had arrived on Glory only in time for the battle, but they respected her for downing the BattleMech that might have defeated Aidan, crashed the mission, and ended the conflict over the Pershaw gene legacy.

At Pershaw's behest, Joanna told tersely and with some bitterness about how a superior officer had sent her to pursue Aidan after he had been relegated to the tech caste and escaped Ironhold. She had found him, brought him back, and drilled him to enter the freeborn training unit. She explained her assumption that he was merely replacing a freeborn who had died accidentally. Only later did she learn that the cadet's death and the deaths of the entire freeborn training unit had been arranged. In the meantime, events transpired to force her to take command of the freeborn unit containing Jorge. (Joanna carefully neglected to mention the mysterious death of one of the freeborn unit's previous training officers, about which she was quite suspicious.)

She concluded by saying, "After Cadet Aidan qualified as a warrior through unorthodox strategy and teamwork with the freebirth who has just given witness, he was assigned elsewhere. I did not see him again until I came here, nor have I heard anything of his exploits as a warrior. As a loyal Clan warrior, I am forced to observe that his actions in the recent battle were distinguished enough to merit mention. That is all. These are the direct, blunt, and true words of a trueborn Clan warrior."

Kael Pershaw stared at Joanna for a long while before he began to speak in the quietest of tones. "You have both related a strange story of defiance and deceit," he said finally, "yet you both neglect to mention the name of the officer responsible for the wretched deeds you describe. What is his name, Star Captain Joanna?"

This moment, too, Joanna had been dreading.

"Falconer Commander Ter Roshak," she said, making each word precise and crisp. "He was commander of the Bravo Division of Cadet Training Iron-hold."

"Does he still hold that post?"

"I believe so, Star Colonel. The last I heard he had won a citation for turning out more successful warriors than any other training commander."

"The last detail is unnecessary, Star Captain. All this individual's achievements, all the high points of his codex, are rendered meaningless by the evidence you and Star Commander Jor—Aidan have given. Ter Roshak has injured us all. He has insulted the Clans and perverted our ways. I have no choice but to put Star Commander Jorge, Star Captain Joanna, and MechWarrior Horse into custody for transport back to Ironhold, where I am sure a Grand Council of the Jade Falcons will convene to examine and render judgment on the case."

At a snap from Pershaw's fingers, two Elementals immediately took hold of Joanna on either side. Two others had taken Aidan into custody. Far in the back of the crowd, ripples from a struggle showed that apprehending MechWarrior Horse was not going so smoothly.

"Further," Kael Pershaw announced, "as commander of the base where this treason has been exposed, I will travel to Ironhold to give evidence. And your conviction, Star Commander Aidan, will give me the greatest joy."

"Permission to speak, sir," Aidan shouted.

"Granted."

"I accept your judgment and transport back to Ironhold, but I request again that you render judgment on my claim."

For once Kael Pershaw appeared rattled, but he recovered quickly. "I have no choice in the matter, Star Commander," he said. "If what you say is true, and your matrilineal line is Pryde, then of course you may compete in the Trial of Bloodright. I doubt that any current Bloodnamed warrior will sponsor you, though."

"I will present myself at the Grand Melee."

"Oh? That is your choice, of course, but do not make your plans too soon, Star Commander. You must first go before the Grand Council, which will determine the disposition of your case. In all likelihood, you will not have to worry about the melee. Executed warriors do not usually compete in any phase of the Trial of Bloodright."