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present invasion. Let us just say that I chose you, Aidan Pryde,
because your tenacity and uncommon skill at sometimes audacious maneuvers
have the best chance of reviving the Falcon Guards. If you do not, nothing is
lost. No shame you might bring to the role of unit commander could bring
the Falcon Guards down any further."
"It is strange, Kael Pershaw. I should be wounded by your words, but instead I
am eager to take die command you offer me."
"Just as I suspected. Make no mistake, you will start this new assignment with
several disadvantages. In addition to the stained reputation of the Guards,
you are being assigned subordinate officers and warriors who are not, may I
say, among the best Clan Jade Falcon has to offer. Like you, each of them has
some mark against him, some blemish to his codex. Many of them you would
best eliminate immediately by putting them in your front lines
against formidable odds.
"But how you handle this new duty is your responsibility. My task is merely to
inform you that you are detached from your present duty to meet with
your new, uh, warriors. They will be assembling on Orkney's southern
hemisphere, at a training field called Mudd Station. You will not have much
time to form up your Falcon Guards and whip them into any kind of shape. You
will soon go into battle."
"How soon?"
"That has not yet been decided. The Khan has authorized me to brief you, but
until all announcements are official, you must regard our conversation as
secret. I have your rede, quiaff ?
"Aff."
"ComStar is no longer neutral. The ilKhan has informed them that our objective
is Terra, and they refuse to allow us to occupy their home planet."
"Then we must be concerned about the ComStar administrators on our planets
rising up against us."
"No. The ComStar Precentor Martial has issued a batchall to ilKhan Kerensky,
which has been accepted. ComStar
has arranged with ilKhan Kerensky for a single battle between the Clans and
the ComStar military forces on a planet named Tukayyid. A Clan victory will
mean that the prize of Terra is ours. But if we lose, the ilKhan has agreed
that our forces will not advance for a period of fifteen years. And during all
that time we must be content merely holding and administering the planets we
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have already conquered."
"The Khans of the other Clans have accepted this?" Aidan was a bit
incredulous.
"Yes. IlKhan Kerensky has called a kurultai of Clans Jade Falcon, Smoke
Jaguar, Steel Viper, Ghost Bear, Diamond
Shark, and Wolf. The terms of the batchall were ratified. In the bidding for
objectives, Khan Chistu offered to use the
Falcon Guards. That reduction in our forces earns our Clan the right to land
on die first day."
As Kael Pershaw continued the briefing, it was all Aidan could do to
concentrate. Already he was speculating on what he might do as commander of
the new Falcon Guards.
Nobody knew the origin of the name Mudd Station. Before the lade Falcons had
taken it over, it was little more than an outpost constructed for some
now-abandoned scientific study. Presently it served the Clan invaders»
strategic purposes, with the addition of new landing areas, buildings, and the
installation of a defense system.
Despite the improvements, Mudd Station was no more desirable a place than
before. Every afternoon it was battered by a heavy rainstorm, whose downpour
could knock to the ground anyone foolish enough to be out in it. The storm
usually damaged some item whose repair took techs away from their
main labors. Slogging around in the mud afterward, Aidan often wondered
if the station's nearly continual ground condition had inspired someone to
give the place its name.
The discomforts of Mudd Station did not, however, dampen his spirits. Each day
brought new contingents for the
Falcon Guards, new challenges, and new complications. DropShips seemed to
transport as many problems as they did personnel. Not the least of these, in
feet, was the personnel.
"Star Colonel, these are among the worst specimens of Clan warrior I have ever
seen," Horse complained, as he and
Aidan made their daily tour of Mudd Station. Their boots squished loudly
with each step. "I wonder how anyone could ever justify the trashbora
genetic programs with this bunch."
"Be careful, Horse," Aidan warned. "Let no one else hear your slurs. You are,
after all, only here on my sufferance.
You are the only freeborn in the Falcon Guards, and Kael Pershaw only made an
exception when I referred him to your codex. That means you will have to toe
the line even more than normal."
"Oh, 1»11 be your good little warrior, Aidan Pryde. But, to be effective, I
must be honest with you."
"Please do. Just be sure that no one overhears. And I would
suggest dropping the contractions. We need no unnecessary reminder of
your origins among these warriors. We want to whip them into shape, not
distract them with matters of less importance. They are already aggressive
enough among themselves, but perhaps we can channel that energy into useful
acts to restore the honor of the Falcon Guards."
Horse stared intently at Aidan. "This assignment has addled your brain. This
unit is condemned, can't cannot you see that?"
"Condemned to what?"
"I do not know what lies Kael Pershaw has poured into your head, but the
scuttlebutt among the warriors and techs is clear enough. We all know that we
are merely filling a slot here. There has to be a Falcon Guards, so there is
one. But do not delude yourself into believing that we have some honorable
goal before us. Have you not noticed the great number of old warriors
assigned to us, individuals on the verge of ending their careers? That is your
clue."
"You speak in riddles," Aidan said impatiently. "We are getting older warriors
for one simple reason: they are among the few warriors available for
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reassignment."
"Is that what Kael Pershaw told you? He masks at least half his motives in the
same way that he does his face. We are getting older warriors because Khan
Chistu is not really concerned with our fate. If any unit was formed
to be cannon fodder, solahma, it is the present Falcon Guards. They
expect little of us, we are considered a dezgra unit, don't do you
not see that?"
Aidan stopped in his tracks, glanced around, then signaled to Horse to follow
him to where no other Clan warrior could hear them. ' 'Of course I know Khan
Chistu is willing to write us off, Horse. He would not intentionally send us
to our deaths, but he would not mourn us as trothkin lost if it happened. But
you know as well as I that this is my only
chance to achieve something as a Clan warrior. The Falcon Guards have been
promised front-line duty. Kael Pershaw even put it in writing, and for all his
devious qualities, you can trust Kael Pershaw's word. We are
included in the bidding for Tukayyid. We will fight there."
"Is that what all this is about for you? Personal glory? All that
contribution to the gene pool bilge that you and your "
Aidan grabbed Horse by die shoulders. "I know what you think about
Clan ways, Horse." Aidan's voice was unusually tense. "But yes, I do seek
personal glory. Yes, I do wish my legacy to pass into the gene pool. Yes, I
want my contribution to this invasion and the Clan goals to be both
exceptional and honorable. Whatever errors my nature has led me to commit in
the past, I am a Clan warrior and intend to do my pan to help the Clans gain
dominion over the worlds and people of the Inner Sphere. If yon cannot
understand because you are freebirth, then try to "
Horse broke Aidan's grip and returned his stare with equal intensity. "What is
happening to you, old friend?" he said softly. "You never call me
rreebirth. And you are the only tnieborn I have known who never has." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]