"I am not blind. I saw the shot that went astray. After I ran out of the clearing, I doubled back and came upon you arguing with our honored falconer. I was tempted to take a potshot at her, but I figured the unit could not survive still another training officer. So, as I said, my thanks."

Aidan reddened. "Well, after all, I owed you a favor. You kept my identity secret."

Horse nodded. In the field the 'Mechs were moving. Soon they were out of sight.

This time they only heard the sounds of battle—sites were designed so that the waiting Trial candidates could get no advantages by studying what their predecessors did. And they did not hear many sounds. The engagements were over quickly.

Aidan and Horse endured the long wait until the Trial results were announced. Both Tom and Spiro had been defeated. Spiro had been hurt. He would lose a leg, someone said.

"That certainly adds to my optimism," Horse said. "I wish they'd start us."

"Horse?"

"We might be able to prevail if we formed a team."

"Isn't that against the rules? I mean, aren't we supposed to fight individually, in good Clan style?"

"That is custom, but not a rule. What if we stay close together instead of competing? What do you say?"

"I don't know. But I'm scared enough to try it."

"Good."

Just then, an officer walked up to tell them that it was almost time for the signal to begin.

40

The Summonerstrutted into the hills side by side, almost shoulder to shoulder. There was no commlink between the two 'Mechs, but Aidan and Horse had quickly worked out their strategy while awaiting the signal to start. Aidan thought it possible the cooperative plan had been tried before, but their opponents, all seasoned warriors, might not anticipate it from what they perceived as a pair of freeborns. If Joanna was in one of the 'Mechs—and he fully expected her to pilot the first one to be set against him—she would have the added surprise and shock of knowing it was a trueborn cooperating with a freeborn.

A mist had settled near the ground, giving the place an eerie, dreamlike look. Aidan watched the feet of Horse's 'Mech lift out of the mist and then step back into it, and knew that, to Horse, Aidan's 'Mech was doing the same.

All his weapon systems were ready. When making his systems check, there had been no failures, no indications of mechanical dysfunction or jamming. Unlike his last outing, he had not been able to make minor reconfigurations of his 'Mech, although the one he piloted had a short-range missile system instead of the usual LRM in its left torso. He also had an extended-range small laser slung under the PPC in his 'Mech's right arm. Aidan assumed that the same alterations had been made in Horse's Summoner.Apparently the ability to choose one's own configurations was another trueborn privilege denied to freeborns. Oh, well, he thought, that does not matter. In hilly terrain like this, we are better off traveling light. He felt he could maintain balance better without too much weapons encumbrance. Maintaining balance was a real effort in this terrain, not only for the hilliness but because the heavy mist forced them to maneuver via computer-generated geological diagrams.

The first challenge came rather quickly. Coming over a hill and looming from the mist, three 'Mechs—a Hellbringer,a Warhawk,and an Executioner—appeared slowly. The Hellbringercontinued to advance until it was more than 600 meters ahead of the other two 'Mechs of the trio, as if to show contempt for the freebirths, as if to say only one 'Mech was needed to take one on. When the Hellbringergestured toward Aidan, he lifted both of his 'Mech's arms up and down to indicate acceptance of the engagement. A formality only, one of those odd bits of courtesy used in tests but rarely in battle, where there was no time for etiquette.

Aidan pondered the familiarity of the situation, as he again faced a Hellbringerto begin his Trial. But there would be no impulsive action this time, no jumping over the heads of his three foes. This time there would, in fact, be a delaying action rather than a sudden one. Swiveling his 'Mech's torso an eighth of a turn, he placed it so that it seemed to lean toward Horse's Summoner.Horse's 'Mech remained still, waiting for its adversaries to appear.

The Hellbringerseemed to hesitate. Aidan suspected it was field procedure to allow the Trial cadet to fire first, but he also knew any tactic was fair and that he could not trust the Hellbringer's pilot to remain polite for long.

He glanced toward Horse's 'Mech. Suddenly it raised its arm and pointed to its left. His opponents had now made their appearance, arising from a deep gully. He also had drawn a Hellbringerand a Warhawk,but the third 'Mech was a Dire Wolf,the same type Aidan had faced, but not engaged, in his first Trial. The Dire Wolfwas the largest of the Clan OmniMechs. As in Aidan's trio, a Hellbringerbroke off from its group and contemptuously advanced some 600 meters to face Horse alone and unsupported.

Using a prearranged signal, Aidan rotated his 'Mech's torso another eighth of a turn, then returned it to its original position. Horse's 'Mech made the same precise rotations. Aidan smiled, knowing that the movements no doubt looked odd to the other 'Mechs in the field, and also to those observing from safe havens. It might have resembled a kind of 'Mech calisthenic. First one did the exercise, then the other.

Since both trios of opponents were entering the fray at about the same plane instead of at angles to the Trial cadets, Aidan's and Horse's 'Mechs lined up side by side, as they had agreed to do if the attack came in this fashion.

The arm of Horse's 'Mech pointed down at an angle for a moment, then came up level, the signal that he and Aidan would begin to walk their 'Mechs straight toward the pair of Hellbringers,each of which was now detached from the others as the first to engage the cadets. Aidan noticed some scorch marks on the Hellbringerin front of him, which made him think this must be the same 'Mech that had finished off Tom or Spiro in the earlier Trial. He drew this conclusion because the other two 'Mechs were shiny and untouched. He also assumed the Hellbringer'spilot was probably feeling pretty cocky, because the 'Mech itself had hardly been damaged. Horse, on the other hand, had drawn a Hellbringerthat apparently had not been involved in the first battle, showing that one of the freeborns had probably inflicted some damage on his opponent.

Neither side had yet fired. Aidan wondered how long the warriors in the rival cockpits would wait to commence the battle. He did not have to wonder for long. A grid on the side of his primary screen showed that the Hellbringerwas trying to lock onto him at cockpit level with its Targa-7 fire-control system. A good move, Aidan noted, for it forced him to dodge sideways, away from Horse, breaking their even line. They had expected to have to continually adjust in order to remain close together, and Horse's move toward Aidan might even have looked cowardly to the other 'Mechs.

They had agreed there would be no signal to fire. Whichever of them decided to strike first would do so.

Aidan, figuring the pilot in the Hellbringerwould make another attempt to lock on with the Targa, aimed and set off a volley of short-range missiles toward it. The missile's arc was true, but the Hellbringerpicked them off, as expected, with a burst from its anti-missile weapons system. What its pilot did not foresee was that another missile would come swooping in, fired by Horse. It hit the Hellbringerat mid-torso and sent armor flying.