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."Resser and I haven'tactually been studying for the past several days.but we have been puttingyour training into practice."Resser swayed a little, having trouble staying on his feet, but Duncan supportedhim.After gulping cups of water that Mord Cour gave them, they explained howthey had jumped overboard in the rough seas, swimming and helping each other todistance themselves from the large dark boat.Straining their abilities to thelimit, clinging to every scrap of knowledge they had learned during eight yearsof rigorous Swordmaster training, they had remained afloat for hours.They didtheir best to navigate by the stars, until finally the tides and currentscarried them to one of the numerous islands -- luckily a civilized one.Fromthere, they had secured minimal first aid and dry clothes, as well as immediatetransportation.Though his good humor had been damaged by the ordeal, Resser still managed toraise his chin."We would like to formally request a delay in our finalexamination, sirs --""Delay?" Jamo Reed said, with tears in his eyes again."I suggest adispensation.Surely these two have proven themselves to our satisfaction?"Indignant, Whitmore Bludd tugged at his ruffles."The forms must be obeyed."Old Mord Cour looked at him skeptically."Haven't the Grummans just shown usthe folly of too-blindly following the forms?" The other four Masters turned toRivvy Dinari for his assessment.Finally, the huge Swordmaster levered his enormous body to his feet and gazed atthe bedraggled students.He indicated the Old Duke's sword and the ceremonialMoritani dagger."Idaho, Resser, draw your weapons."With a clatter of steel, the Swordmasters took up their blades, arranged in asunburst pattern on the semicircular table.His heart pounding, Duncan pickedup the Old Duke's sword from the table, and Resser took the dagger.The fiveSwordmasters formed a circle, including the two students in the ring, andextended their blades toward the center, placing one atop the other. "Lay your points on top of the rest," Mord Cour said."You are now Swordmasters," Dinari announced in his paradoxically small voice.The huge man sheathed his sword, removed the red bandanna from his spikymahogany hair, and tied it around Duncan's head.Jamo Reed withdrew anotherbandanna and cinched it around Resser's red hair.After eight years, the rush of triumph and relief brought Duncan to nearcollapse, but through sheer force of will he steadied his knees and remainedstanding.He and Resser grasped each other's hands in celebration, albeit onetainted by tragedy.Duncan couldn't wait to return to Caladan.I have not failed you, Duke Leto.Then a sound like ripping air tore overhead, a succession of sonic booms fromdescending atmospheric craft.From the reefs that circled the central island,unexpected sirens went off.Much closer, an explosion echoed from the walls ofthe administration buildings.The senior Swordmasters sprinted to a balcony that overlooked the complex.Across the channels of still water, two nearby islands glowed with smoky fires."Armored airships!" Jamo Reed said.Duncan saw black predatory forms swoop outof the pillars of flame, in steep climbs as they dropped streams of explosives.Jeh-Wu snarled, tossing his dark hair."Who would dare attack us?"To Duncan, the answer seemed obvious."House Moritani isn't done with us yet.""It flies in the face of all civilized warfare," Rivvy Dinari said."They havenot declared kanly, have not followed the proper forms.""After what he has done to us, to Ecaz, what does Viscount Moritani care aboutthe forms?" Resser said in disgust."You don't understand how his mind works."More bombs exploded."Where's our antiaircraft fire?" Whitmore Bludd sounded more annoyed thanoutraged."Where are our 'thopters?""No one has ever attacked Ginaz before," Jamo Reed said."We are politicallyneutral.Our school serves all Houses."Duncan could see how these Masters had been blinded by their egos, their rulesand forms and structures.Hubris! They had never conceived of their ownvulnerabilities -- despite what they taught their students.With a foul stream of expletives, Dinari pushed binoculars against the folds offat on his face.He flicked the oil-lens settings and, ignoring the oncomingarmored craft, scanned the rugged edge of the administrative island."Enemycommandos are all over that shore, landing opposite the spaceport.Approachingwith shoulder-mounted artillery""Must have come in by submarine," Jeh-Wu said."This isn't an impromptu attack-- they've been planning it for quite some time." "Waiting for an excuse," Reed added, a deep frown creasing his tanned face.Theattacking airships drew closer, thin black disks shimmering with defensiveshields.To Duncan, the Swordmasters appeared so helpless, almost pathetic, when facedwith this unexpected situation.Their hypothetical exercises were far differentfrom reality.Painfully so.He gripped the Old Duke's sword."Those ships are unmanned flyovers, made to drop bombs and incendiaries," Duncansaid with cool assessment, as a rain of bombs fell from the roaring disks.Buildings blossomed into fire all along the shoreline.Shouting, the proud Swordmasters ran from the balcony, with Resser and Duncan intheir midst."We need to get to our stations, do what we can to guide thedefense!" Dinari's thin voice was sharpened with command."The rest of the new trainees are at the spaceport," Resser pointed out."Theycan grab equipment and fight back."Off-balance but struggling to recover, especially in front of the even-more-panicked officials and administrators, Jamo Reed, Mord Cour, and Jeh-Wu chargedalong the main corridor, while Rivvy Dinari showed how fast he could move hisbulk, vaulting down a stairway by holding handrails and leaping from landing tolanding.Whitmore Bludd scuttled behind him.After exchanging quick glances, Duncan and Resser followed the two Swordmasterswho'd gone down the stairway.A nearby explosion rocked the administrationbuilding, and the young men stumbled.Still, they kept going.Outside, thefull-scale attack continued.The new Swordmasters surged through a door at ground level into the centrallobby, joining Dinari and Bludd.Through the armor-plaz windows, Duncan couldsee buildings burning outside."We've got to get to your command center," hesaid to his elders."We need the equipment to fight.Are there attack'thopters at the spaceport?"Resser held his ceremonial Moritani dagger."I'll fight right here, if theydare send anyone in to face us."Bludd looked agitated; he had dropped his colorful cloak somewhere on thestairs."Don't think small.What is their goal? Of course, they'll be afterthe vault!" In dismay, he nodded toward an ornate black coffin on a dais thatdominated the lobby."Jool-Noret's remains, the most sacred object on all ofGinaz.Can you think of a greater insult to us?" With a flushed face he turnedtoward his enormous companion."It would be just like the Grummans to hit us inthe heart."Perplexed, Duncan and Resser looked at each other.They had been steeped intales about the legendary fighter -- but in the face of this bloody attack, theexploding bombs, the screaming civilians rushing for shelter on the islandstreets, neither of them could care much about the old relic.Dinari rushed across the floor like a battleship moving at full speed."To thevault!" he shouted.Bludd and the others tried to keep up with him.The famous burial vault was surrounded by clear armor-plaz and a shimmeringHoltzman-generated shield.Eschewing all arrogant pretenses, the two Swordmasters rushed up the steps and pressed their palms against a securitypanel.The shield faded, and the armor-plaz barriers lifted."We'll carry the sarcophagus," Bludd shouted to Duncan and Resser."We mustkeep this safe
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