TEXT: BATTLECORPS
  A NOTE TO READERS ABOUT SECURITY
  These preview PDF files are being released with nothing beyond 
  the basic security; you need not be a subscriber to BattleCorps to 
  enjoy this fiction. Feel free to distribute these PDFs throughout the 
  community to harken the return of Classic BattleTech fiction! 
  However, please keep in mind that future PDFs will be released 
  with appropriate security measures to ensure BattleCorps can  
  continue to provide new fiction and art for the BattleTech community  
  every month.
  BattleCorps Security Team
  Tears of Blood
  Part 1
  By Randall N. Bills
  
  BATTLECORPS
  Damage Control • Page 2
  Blood Spirit Hall 
  New Tara, York 
  Kerensky Cluster, Clan Space 
  17 November,  3061
  The crisp scent of com-
  ing snow hung in the air.
  Caden halted momen-
  tarily from his purposeful 
  stride across Spirit Square, 
  leaving him standing in 
  the shadow of the mam-
  moth Blood Spirit Hall. 
  With fall in full swing, his 
  black boots crunched on 
  dried leaves long fallen 
  from their precarious grip 
  on life at the end of a twig. 
  Devoid of nature’s adornments and without the bustle of people 
  that would occur once the sun crested, the square appeared al-
  most ethereal, lacking any semblance of life. He peered at the 
  carved friezes and jutting gargoyles of the Hall; a giant cathedral 
  overlooking an accursed and forgotten graveyard.
  Angrily he pushed such dark thoughts away and moved on 
  toward the doors that were fully open-even this early in the morn-
  ing-braced on either side by striated columns of granite that shot 
  up to support an awning twenty meters above his head.  Some 
  claimed the Blood Spirit Hall on Strana Mechty was even larger, 
  but he could not bring himself to believe it.  This building, so mag-
  nificent, imbued with the honor, dignity and righteousness of Clan 
  Blood Spirit - he could not imagine a more fantastic structure.
  Passing through marble doors sheathed in gold leaf, half a meter 
  thick and over eight meters wide - yet the slightest push would set 
  them in motion - he entered the Chamber of Supplicants. He knew 
  that this building had been patterned after the architecture of one 
  of ancient Terra’s most impressive structures, but at the moment, 
  he could not bring it to mind.  Though Caden regularly visited the 
  Hall, he could not help the tightening of his chest, a pride that filled 
  him to bursting every time he beheld this place. 
  The floor of the large, circular chamber immediately drew the 
  eye. Inlaid with a gigantic mosaic that covered its entire surface, 
  
  BATTLECORPS
  Damage Control • Page 3
  it depicted the Spirits’ great battle known as Operation Klondike 
  on the world of Arcadia. The central figure of the piece was Khan 
  Colleen Schmitt herself, striding among the lost and depraved 
  citizens of the fallen Star League in exile like an avatar, half again 
  larger than any ‘Mech. Clothed in the mythic armor of her Scottish 
  past and holding a flaming claymore, her head was haloed in a bril-
  liant light made up of the intertwined logos of the original twenty 
  Clans created by the Founder. Only a quick aversion of Caden’s 
  eyes allowed him to avoid gazing at the logo of the Not-Named 
  Clan.  After his first impassioned outburst over its existence, he 
  had come to understand the significance of that symbol for his 
  Clan and why it had not been erased along with everything else. 
  Still, he could not bring himself to look at it.
  Lifting his head, he moved around the edge of the chamber. The 
  mosaic had been designed to withstand the tread of countless 
  feet, but he had never seen a single person intrude upon its mag-
  nificence. 
  The rest of the chamber was equally daunting, with off-white 
  fluted columns spaced every four meters around the entire length 
  of the wall and rising up twenty meters to a vaulted ceiling made 
  entirely of plasteel, which flooded the interior with light. Etched 
  into the plasteel were constellations as viewed by someone stand-
  ing in the highlands of ancient Scotland on sacred Terra; even in 
  broad daylight they were easy to make out. Caden grudgingly gave 
  respect to the obviously masterful talents of the labor castemen 
  who had created such a work.
  The walls drew his attention as he walked toward the double 
  doors set opposite the entrance, his boots striking the floor 
  with sharp staccato sounds that echoed in the empty chamber. 
  Between each column, malachite pedestals mounted into the wall 
  formed a series of rising and falling steps in a geometric pattern 
  that flowed around the chamber.  On each pedestal, in a preserv-
  ing case, rested a trophy from a past Bloodnamed warrior: a laser 
  pistol at lower right; a studded, black leather glove at middle right; 
  an ancient neurohelmet with a cracked face plate at upper left; 
  what appeared to be the pelt of an unusual marsupial at middle 
  left - the list went on with well over five hundred such prizes.  Each 
  was a memento from a warrior who had left his or her indelible 
  mark on Clan Blood Spirit.  Once more Caden’s chest filled with 
  pride and his pace quickened.
  Exiting the Chamber of Supplicants, he strode down a long mar-
  ble hallway, with numerous doors stretching down either side that 
  
  BATTLECORPS
  Damage Control • Page 4
  seemed unadorned when compared to the opulence of the cham-
  ber behind.  Coming to another hallway running perpendicular to 
  the one he had just traversed, he turned left and continued on 
  down the spartan corridor. 
  As his destination came into view he found himself slowing. The 
  realization of where he was and what he was about to do rushed 
  over him. He came to a dead stop and stood in the deserted hallway 
  as the dying echoes of his footfalls fell into the distance. Shaking 
  himself like a dog shedding water, Caden moved forward with de-
  liberation and reached out to strike the door smartly, a warrior’s 
  knock without timidity. A moment of silence passed. Before he 
  could stop himself, his ever-present impatience got the better of 
  him and he struck the door a second time.
  ”Enter,” said a muffled voice.
  Suddenly regretting his rash desire to get this interview over 
  with, he cautiously opened the door and moved into the room. 
  Drawing himself up ramrod straight, he formed his left hand into a 
  wedge, raised it parallel to the floor and thumped it into the center 
  of his chest. “Star Captain Caden reporting as requested.” His too-
  loud voice seemed to shake the room in an attempt to intimidate 
  its only other occupant.  He winced inwardly at his own gaffe but 
  kept his eyes pinned high on the room’s back wall.
  A softer, woman’s voice answered as if to mock his baying. “You 
  do not have to yell, Caden. I know Blood Spirit Hall is large enough 
  to make a person feel the need to shout. Still... I would have thought 
  in my humble office, you would not feel it necessary.” 
  Caden flinched inwardly once more at the implied rebuke, choos-
  ing to ignore the smile he could hear in her words. The seconds 
  stretched into a minute as he tried vainly to keep his impatience 
  under control. He could not understand why she had brought him 
  here, if all she was going to do was look at him.  Did she wish to 
  couple? Why did she simply not ask him? It would be done quickly 
  and he could return to the Ninety-first. As another minute of the 
  tomblike silence dragged by, he lost the fight with himself and his 
  eyes briefly flicked toward the woman who had summoned him.
  Sitting behind a large granite desk - one meter by three - the di-
  minutive figure seemed lost in her chair. Black, short-cropped hair 
  framed a beautiful, finely featured face, from which coal-black, 
  slanted eyes gazed back at him. An almost transparent skein of 
  wrinkles spread out from the corners of those eyes, though no 
  gray showed in her hair. Her small, slender body was sheathed 
  
  BATTLECORPS
  Damage Control • Page 5
  in a blood-red body suit, unadorned except for the liquid-like red 
  stripe that began at her neck and ran down the suit’s left side - a 
  uniform that matched his own except for the red and black half 
  cape he wore. 
  Caden’s first impression was of a small woman in a garment that 
  fit her badly and sitting behind a desk she could not possibly oc-
  cupy, much less fill. However, as his gaze locked with hers, he felt 
  his knees turn to water at the force behind those eyes. Bottomless 
  ebony, they flayed his soul and turned him inside out for her min-
  ute inspection.  As he tore his gaze away, even though he knew 
  intellectually that mere seconds had passed, he felt as if her gaze 
  had held him for an hour or more as she meticulously ransacked 
  his entire being. He berated himself for his lack of patience; he 
  knew that he had failed some test.
  ”So, you are every bit as impetuous as they say, eh?” she said 
  slowly, her high sweet voice almost a balm after the beating her 
  eyes had given him.
  ”Aff. I apologize for my nature, House Leader, but I am who I 
  have been bred to be.” He tried to say it forcefully but was infuri-
  ated with himself when he detected a slight hitch in his voice. It 
  did not help that he could tell the smile was back in hers.
  ”Ah, an apology, but one barbed with an inability to make a re-
  joinder. I doubt you meant it so, but I congratulate you on such 
  delicate word use.  I wonder if that comes naturally? If so, could it 
  be molded into a hook for catching prey? Large prey, eh?”
  He slowly shook his head. “I apologize, House Leader, but I do 
  not understand what you are saying.”
  The slap of her hand striking the desk was like a gunshot in the 
  enclosed space. His head whipped around to look at the House 
  Leader before he realized what he was doing. An angry scowl 
  marred her almost perfect features.
  ”Do not apologize,” she said. “The first was forgivable, as it was 
  artfully, if unintentionally, done.  The second simply displays weak-
  ness, meekness that I will not see in one of my House, quiaff.”
  ”Aff,” Caden managed to croak out. 
  With his reply her face was instantly transformed back into the 
  beautiful facade he had seen before. He wondered for a moment if 
  he had been mistaken about her anger. Then he realized - ashamed 
  at how slowly it came to him - that his House leader was possibly 
  even more dangerous than he had imagined. This woman, so pe-
  
  BATTLECORPS
  Damage Control • Page 6
  tite that she looked as if Caden could crush her in an instant, was 
  arguably the third most powerful person in the entire Blood Spirit 
  Clan. Her looks aside, she could only have gotten where she was 
  through competence, devotion and ruthlessness. Especially ruth-
  lessness. He simply had not thought along such lines…until now.
  ”I ap...” He caught himself mid-word and nervously cleared his 
  throat as he shifted his gaze elsewhere, seeking the words she 
  wanted to hear. “I understand, House Leader.”
  ”Better.”
  Upon hearing her move, he looked to find that she had come 
  out from behind the desk.  With a grace that only supreme physi-
  cal fitness combined with absolute knowledge of one’s power can 
  bring, she slid around the desk and perched on its edge.
  ”I imagine you would like to know why I summoned you here, 
  quiaff?”
  ”Aff, House Leader.”
  ”You know, you could call me Sariah.”
  ”Uh, no, House Leader, I could not.”
  A gentle, warm chuckle briefly filled the room. “Yes, perhaps 
  you could not at that. What do you know of your Bloodheritage?”
  Caden could not keep the incredulous look from washing over his 
  features. He answered harshly. “House Leader, how can you ask 
  that question?  I have passed my Trial of Position and become a 
  warrior.  That would not have been possible without my complete 
  knowledge of the history of my Bloodright. I can name every war-
  rior who has held our sacred Church Bloodname, when they fell 
  in service to our Clan and when each Trial of Bloodright was sub-
  sequently held so that additional worthy warriors could have the 
  right to hold the great Bloodname of Church. Much to my anguish, 
  I can even tell you the two dates of Reaving, when our House has 
  fallen from grace.  I do not see...”
  ”Enough,” she said, cutting him off in mid-tirade. “I did not 
  mean to besmirch your knowledge or your honor. I know full well 
  the efficiency of our indoctrination.  I need not hear ancient his-
  tory. I wanted to know what you know of current House Church 
  events.”
  Thrown off guard, Caden took a few moments to regain his com-
  posure. After a deep breath, he began again. “House Leader, I can 
  
  BATTLECORPS
  Damage Control • Page 7
  name all twenty-three current holders of our Bloodname, includ-
  ing when they won the right to hold it and...”
  ”Enough,” she said again. The slight edge to her voice sent a 
  message to Caden; answer my question in the manner in which I 
  want or you are through.
  ”What are the current events of House Church?”
  He paused for a moment before answering, his mind racing 
  quicker than a PPC discharge. He shifted position in an effort to 
  stall for time, but one look toward her told him he had to deliver 
  now or this audience was over.  With sudden insight, he under-
  stood what she might be after. A burning point of hope sparked at 
  the possibilities.
  ”House Leader, I believe that Star Captain Josef Church was en 
  route to Strana Mechty as part of a relief force for our garrison in 
  the Warrior’s Quarter of Katyusha City, quiaff?”
  ”Aff. Though I hoped you would respond sooner, I can see the 
  flame that has been ignited within you even now. And to answer 
  the question you will not voice, yes, Star Captain Church was lost 
  when his JumpShip was attacked by the Bandit Caste.”
  ”No!” Though he was genuinely shocked at this turn of events 
  and was saddened to learn of a fellow House member’s death, 
  Caden had to look away. Otherwise, he knew what the House 
  Leader would see if she gazed into his eyes.
  ”Look at me.”
  Unable to deny an outright command, he slowly brought his 
  head up and looked directly at his House Leader. A slow smile 
  spread across her face, though her eyes remained as cold as the 
  depths of space. “Ah, I knew you were the one. I can see the loss 
  on your face; you are not a monster to so quickly forget a fallen 
  comrade. But there is something else, too...”
  Moving closer, her short stature was even more exaggerated 
  next to his height. Young as he was at only seventeen, he was 
  afraid he would cast a shadow across her before she even came 
  into arms’ reach. Step by step, she closed with him until only a 
  hands’ breadth separated them, forcing Caden to tilt his head 
  down to continue looking at her. She had not yet broken eye con-
  tact and he was not about to break it first.
  ”Yes,” she almost whispered. “I see the hunger in your eyes. Even 
  with so little information you see the possibilities.  I have looked at 
  
  BATTLECORPS
  Damage Control • Page 8
  your codex and I see those same possibilities.  Your gene-parents 
  were superb and their talents have bred true in you. Testing out 
  so young and in such a spectacular fashion...” Her voice trailed off 
  again as another cold smile lit her lips.
  Caden could not help the pride that filled him at the thought of 
  his accomplishments. “Yes, House Leader. No one has defeated 
  three opponents in their Trial of Position in more than four decades 
  at the Training Facility.” Suddenly realizing that he did not wish to 
  sound boastful in front of this woman, he continued. “Assuming 
  my rank of Star Captain and taking my giftake of a Blood Kite is 
  more than enough reward for my success.”
  ”Humbleness does not become you, Caden. You mouth the 
  words, but they are not reflected in your face.  As the saying goes, 
  the eyes are the windows to the soul and your soul is scorching 
  your corneas with its need.”
  ”You are correct. I believe I do understand the implications.  I 
  cannot help but ponder the significance of my summons, though. 
  After all, I would have found out about the Star Captain’s death 
  through the usual channels.  There was no need for you to person-
  ally inform me, quiaff?”
  ”Neg,” Sariah said. “There was every need to speak with you per-
  sonally. You know full well that I will announce a Trial of Bloodright 
  in the coming weeks, quiaff?”
  ”Aff.”
  ”What is more, I will nominate you myself.”
  Caden froze for a moment, unable to believe what he had just 
  heard. Though the spark of ambition blossomed quickly within 
  him, he could hardly conceive that it would flame true.  Only re-
  cently he had won his Trial of Position and already he was to be 
  nominated for a Bloodname?  And the Church House Leader her-
  self was nominating him?!  The prestige of it blinded him for a 
  moment as specters of the glory to come spiraled through his in-
  ner vision.
  ”You will succeed, quiaff,” she said. There was no mistaking her 
  tone.  Either he would succeed or he had better die trying.
  Rocked by emotions, he answered savagely, “Aff, my House 
  Leader, aff. I will not fail you.”
  
  BATTLECORPS
  Damage Control • Page 9
  In a voice as cold as an arctic wind she answered, “I know you 
  will not, my familiar. I know there is no possibility of failure in you. 
  And with your victory will begin the rise of the Church Bloodname 
  once more.
  ”And the destruction of Clan Star Adder.”
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/BattleTech [multi]/EXTRA/Novels/Battlecorps Novels/Tears of Blood Chap 01 - Randall N. Bills.pdf