In the coin ceremony for the next contest, Aidan's coin had emerged second from the gravity funnel. As the hunter, he chose conventional BattleMechs. As venue, his adversary, a Star Captain named Jenna, had chosen a mountain range in the far north of Ironhold. At first the holotank mountains were small and the BattleMechs like the tiny toy versions with which sibko children play in their holotanks. As the two fighting machines tracked one another, however, each trying to find some terrain most favorable to his skills, the holo projections grew larger. In the vast area below the spectators, it was not long before they were viewing a pair of 'Mechs approximately one-third their normal size engaged in a hard-fought contest on rugged terrain.
At this point Jenna's strategy became obvious. Knowing that Aidan would be piloting a seventy-ton Summoner,she had chosen a lighter 'Mech, a fifty-five ton, jump-capable Stormcrowthat she could use more effectively in mountainous terrain. Kael Pershaw was not sure, however, whether the Stormcrowwould be successful in the long run. The ability to move about the mountain faster than the Summonerwould, he thought, be enough to prolong the battle but not to win it. Still, he admired the audaciousness of the choice.
Aidan's aggressiveness would be a help rather than a hindrance in the fight with Star Captain Jenna. At one point, he could have remained in an easily defended cliffside, shooting at Jenna across a wide crevasse, the two of them exchanging LRM volleys that did about equal damage to their 'Mechs. Most other warriors would have taken that approach. What Aidan did was jump his Summonerfrom the cliff to a precarious icy perch above and off to one side of Jenna's Stormcrow.From here he fired his LRMs straight down, not so much at Jenna's 'Mech but at the junction between the cliff face and the ledge where she stood. As the LRM warheads battered the rock, the ground beneath the feet of Jenna's 'Mech began to show cracks. Aidan fired again. The Stormcrowseemed to sway with the ledge beneath it, then the cracks opened further and the ledge collapsed into the crevasse, taking with it both Stormcrowand its brave pilot.
The end came so suddenly that Kael Pershaw almost did not follow it. When the Stormcrowsuddenly disappeared, he silently uttered words of praise for Aidan and words of regret for Star Captain Jenna.
* * *
"You have fought three major battles," Horse said, "the Grand Melee and the two first rounds of the Bloodright. All three of your opponents are dead. Is a Bloodname worth all this, well, blood?"
"You know it is, Horse."
Horse said nothing. He had never truly understood his friend.
* * *
Marthe saw that what might be termed the psychological advantage was shifting to Aidan's favor. In the next battle, his opponent, perceiving that Aidan had twice survived in unusual terrain, had chosen as venue one of the many Trial fields on Ironhold. Marthe leaned against a rail to watch the holo projection of the battle. She could not stand with the rest of Aidan's entourage without revealing her true role in Aidan's Bloodname quest. Joanna and Horse viewed the battle from a section of seats in the next tier up. Arms folded, Kael Pershaw stood on the same level as Marthe, but directly across from her.
Aidan's foe, a Star Commander Grayling, had come onto the field in a Timber Wolf,a 'Mech especially popular with Clan Wolf but uncommon among Jade Falcon warriors. With the double LRM-20 racks mounted on its shoulders, the Timber Wolflooked like a beast of burden, carrying heavy loads on bowed shoulders.
The two 'Mechs kept their distance at first, firing long-range missiles at one another in a way that suggested this battle might be a prolonged one. The missiles did considerable damage, distributed evenly between both sides. Armor lay spread around both 'Mechs.
Then the Timber Wolfstarted to close in on the Summoner.Lumbering forward, using its large lasers now, the 'Mech was sketching lines of damage across the surface of Aidan's 'Mech.
Aidan had studied Grayling's codex, however, and knew that the man almost invariably fought by the book. To counter the Timber Wolf'splodding slowness, he started his 'Mech toward it, gradually breaking into a run straight at his foe. Then he fired off a volley of LRMs directly in front of him, letting the smoke and dust thrown off by the explosion envelop his 'Mech. Aidan was gambling that Grayling was concentrating on the visual spectrum display of the primary view screen. In the instant it would take for his opponent to track the Summoneron the secondary screen, Aidan maneuvered it to one side, suddenly emerging from the thinning cloud of smoke to come at the Timber Wolf froma different angle.
With&ut slowing down, Aidan came at the Timber Wolf,relentlessly unloading his entire supply of short-range missiles. According to the plan Aidan and his team had devised, the goal was to take out the LRM packs on each of the Wolf'sshoulders.
And the strategy worked. First one blew up, then the other, followed almost immediately by the Timber Wolfitself. The observers (including Aidan, viewing from his cockpit) were relieved to see Star Captain Grayling shoot out the 'Mech in his ejection seat just before the 'Mech exploded.
"That was lucky," Kael Pershaw said as he passed Joanna at the command center door. Joanna made no reply, but she definitely agreed.
* * *
Megasa had also reached round four, but he and Aidan were not scheduled to fight one another. Not yet.
Many warriors had gathered on the various tiers to view the combats involving Aidan and Megasa. Megasa, in his Mad Dog,quickly vanquished an opponent in an Executioner.Indeed, the fight was over so soon that he was able to come to the command center in time to watch Aidan's contest.
Aidan's coin had made him hunter, while his opponent chose as venue an island in the middle of a lake. Aidan was not so concerned how or where the contest would be fought. It was more that he was so exhausted from the previous contests that he wanted to polish this one off quickly. If he was going to fight in the final Bloodright battle, he wanted to be ready for it. Joanna supplied the strategy for an island battle, basing it on a fight in which she had participated several years before.
For this fight, Aidan's Summonerwas configured entirely with long-range missiles, plus a narc beacon. Marthe wondered if it might not be wise to keep some of the other armament or at least add some medium lasers, but both Joanna and Aidan wanted to go for everything.
"What if he gets in close?"
"I will risk it," Aidan said.
"He will risk it," Joanna said.
"Yeah, risk," Horse coarsely agreed.
* * *
Aidan's foe, a MechWarrior named Machiko, would be in a Hellbringer.That would not affect Aidan's strategy, which had been devised to operate against whatever type 'Mech entered the field against him.
Joanna studied the terrain, which was relatively flat for an island. She decided that Machiko had chosen it to prevent Aidan from being able to carry out any elaborate maneuvers. If Aidan kept his distance, however, the strategy for this battle was viable.
As soon as he saw the signal to begin, Aidan executed a ground-skimming jump right at the Hellbringer.Machiko meanwhile took the opportunity to chip away at the Summoner's armor with her medium laser and a PPC.