Mercenary Hearts

Summary: There are only two unattached Sangheili on Earth: a jaded nurse who wants a child and a retired warrior who wishes to dream of what he’s lost. What future is there for two such mercenary hearts?


Author’s Note: At long last, I have a version of this story that I’m happy with. I apologize for the wait, and I hope everyone has been enjoying “Duels of Honour: Giving the Lie” in the meantime. For the next few months, you’ll be getting double updates as I finish “Giving the Lie” and get this story rolling. “Giving the Lie” runs seven chapters and “Mercenary Hearts” runs fifteen.

When I finished “Cross Blades,” I felt that I’d done a bit of a disservice to Kya ‘Pomor. Since “Cross Blades” is told entirely from the points of view of Usze and N’tho, we really didn’t have a chance to get into Kya’s head. I felt the character deserved a bit more closure, as did Piro. And so, this sequel was born….

I also wanted to tell a bit more of Usze’s backstory through the character of his mother, Shayya. And, as it turns out, one of the supporting cast from “Giving the Lie” also makes an appearance here.

If you have not read “Cross Blades,” I strongly recommend you read that one first. I’ve been (congratulated? accused?) of writing a nail-biter and I’d hate to ruin the suspense for anyone who read them out of order.

This story features a heterosexual relationship between two Sangheili. As well, there are secondary characters who are in a homosexual relationship. They are not the romantic leads in this story, but if the very idea offends you, you won’t want to read this story.

OTEHR: There are mentions (no detail) of an underage relationship. I do not feel this counts as "pedophilia" as the individual in question is almost an adult so in real life this is more like a 17-year-old in a relationship with an adult as opposed to sex with little kids.

In addition to the above underage relationship there is also mention of a sexual assault. I wish to take this opportunity to state that I do not condone this sort of behaviour in real life, and that my characters are not intended to act as role models. As well, there is no detail given of these events, as I do not wish this story to be misconstrued as celebrating or excusing these kinds of illegal encounters. There also is an occasion (slightly more detailed) of sexual harassment. While all these things are presented as negatives, if the thought of encountering them in a story disturbs you, please do not read any further.

Everyone else, happy reading. Chapters will be released one per month, to a total of fifteen chapters.

For those who are wondering why I update once a month: I have three part-time jobs, may be going back to school, have a family, and am writing two original novels. I think everyone here can understand that earning a living, continuing my education, spending time with my loved ones and writing/working towards an end goal of making writing my career and means of earning a living, all take priority over fanfiction, which is something I do for fun and give away for free. That being said, I love being part of the fanfic community and sharing my stories with other fans, so by releasing one chapter a month, I can stay active in the fan community and still have sufficient time to do those other important things. I also don’t leave readers waiting months, or years, for my next update when my life gets too hectic with other things.

“Duels of Honour: Giving the Blade” has already been started, but I can’t say at this point when I will start posting it.

Also…when I have extra free time…I’ll update side projects like “Blood Shadow”.

Thanks for understanding.

On with the show…

Mercenary Hearts


Chapter the First: One Way Ride

Setting: the end of Chapter 20 of “Cross Blades,” after Halo 3, January 2553

Piro ‘Kipaz checked the Phantom’s controls one last time. Satisfied that the Slipspace-enabled craft was still on course after a week of flight, he activated the autopilot and turned to survey the rest of the vessel’s strange crew.

His son, N’tho ‘Sraom, was in the hold of the vessel, seated beside a closed stasis pod. Inside the pod was Usze ‘Taham, N’tho’ mate, the former Blademaster Liaison to the Fleet of Particular Justice. Usze’s injury was hopefully not fatal, but it was anyone’s guess when, or if, the Blademaster would be walking unaided again.

Traditionally, a Sangheili with such a crippling injury as Usze would suffer one of two fates. In the midst of combat, he would end his own life, or ask his comrades to do it for him if he could not. Should the injury occur off the field of battle, or should the injured warrior somehow survive until the battle’s end, he would be forcibly returned to Sangheilos. A married male would spend the rest of his life siring young with his wife; an unmarried male would be fair game as a breeder to any female who would have him. Some injured warriors enjoyed life as studs. Others considered it a fate worse than death, particularly those who preferred males, or those who fell into the hands of some of Sanghelios’ more ruthless females.

An aristocrat swordsman such as the Blademaster was forbidden to marry. He would belong to the High Priestesses if he ever returned to Sanghelios.

Piro felt much in common with the now-crippled Blademaster. Piro was old, past the voluntary retirement age and quickly closing on the mandatory retirement age. And he had no wife back on Sanghelios, nor did he have any long-term lovers, and it was best that way. Escaping the undesired attentions of the planet’s females by binding oneself to yet another unwanted female…it made no sense to him. In time, his fate would have been similar to Usze’s.

So Piro ‘Kipaz was not bothered by the fact that their vessel was on a one-way trip.

The Arbiter and his Human allies had no sooner overthrown the Prophets than an insurrection had broken forth within the Sangheili ranks. Many Sangheili disliked the radical new measures which the Arbiter had taken: pulling the Sangheili out of the Covenant, abolishing the old religion, forming an alliance with the Humans, challenging the old notions of gender roles, and more. The Arbiter’s new laws were shaking the very foundation of Sangheili society.

For countless generations, Sangheili culture had been based around the values of power, courage, and loyalty. Piro still did not think that these were bad things. But power without compassion, courage without responsibility, loyalty without thought—these values required counterpoints that had been missing from Sangheili society for too long, until power had become cruelty, courage had become futile death, and loyalty had become blind obedience.

Those who liked cruelty, death, and blind obedience were violently resisting the change. Their leader was Imperial Admiral Xytan ‘Jar Wattin, and his greatest supporters were the Ascetic Order. The Order had asked Usze ‘Taham, one of their own, to assassinate the Arbiter. Usze had refused, and both he and his partner N’tho had almost paid the ultimate price for Usze’s choice.

They still might, Piro thought, if the Humans refuse to give us sanctuary on Earth.

Piro’s gaze fell on the fourth member of their little crew, asleep on a narrow bunk.

Unlike N’tho and Usze, who were fleeing the wrath of the Ascetics, or Piro, who had chosen to accompany his son on this one-way trip, Kya ‘Pomoraa had been swept up by forces beyond her control.

The Ascetics had captured N’tho, intending to use him as bait to lure Usze to his death. The ambush had mostly failed; those involved were now all dead, including Usze’s own father, the Blademaster Toha ‘Sumai. But victory had come at a cost: Usze was crippled, N’tho was now on the Ascetics’ blacklist, and Kya, poor Kya, she had been nothing but an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.

Toha had demanded a female for his entertainment. Even now her belly was rounding with the swell of an egg, doubtlessly Toha’s child. N’tho had told Piro that Kya had not been a willing participant in the creation of that egg.

Even when Usze and Piro had charged to N’tho’s rescue, Kya had not truly been freed. She was a nurse—the only one of the group who had any idea of how to treat Usze’s injury. N’tho had been adamant that Kya would be coming to Earth with them to care for Usze; he admitted to Piro later that he’d been prepared to force her if he had to.

Kya had not protested. Whether immersing herself in caring for Usze helped her to forget what had happened to her, or whether she just wanted to get as far away from Shadow of Intent as possible, Kya had gone along with them willingly.

At N’tho’s insistence, the Phantom was bound for Earth. N’tho planed to ask the Arbiter for permission for himself and Usze to serve as Sanghelios’ ambassadors to the Humans; should the Arbiter refuse, Piro knew that N’tho would claim that the Phantom was broken and that they could not return.

What would happen to Kya when she realized that they would not be returning to Sanghelios or to the fleet?

Now Piro felt guilty. His first allegiance was to his son; his second, to his son’s mate. He wondered if the three of them were really that much better than Toha ‘Sumai and the Ascetics, or if Kya ‘Pomoraa had simply traded one set of abusers for another.

*-*-*-*

One week later

Kya walked down the hallway of the base medical wing, her belly fat with egg, and smiled to herself. She had never once thought she would be so proud of what she did for a living.

Usze ‘Taham was alive and would someday be able to walk under his own power. Yes, he would always have a limp, but back on the Fleet she had seen countless Sangheili euthanized for injuries less than his.

Kya would be working closely with a team of Humans to help Usze ‘Taham heal. Gita Sangupta was a xenobiologist by trade who had been studying the Sangheili for most of her life. Kya had been wary that Gita had wanted live specimens to experiment on, but as it turned out, Gita’s primary motivation was a true delight in knowledge and discovery. The Human had been excited to find a Sangheili with medical knowledge whom she could talk to, and as a result, Kya had found not only a co-worker but a friend.

Major Karl Osstrander had been the leader of a field hospital during the war. His team of medics had been the support staff for Usze’s operation. Whatever caused the haunted look in Osstrander’s eyes, he was able to put it behind him and get on with the business at hand. He believed that forging a peace between Humans and Sangheili was the best way to help his species rebuild, and he was determined to do his part by assisting the Sangheili who would become ambassadors to Earth.
Rashid Youssef was not a doctor, but a veterinarian. Gita had seemed insulted at this news, but Kya had noticed that Rashid was a talented caregiver with a skilful hand and a gentle touch. Rashid also had experience with extremely long, delicate surgeries, and Kya wanted that sort of expertise for Usze. When human surgeons had turned them down, Rashid had been there.

With Gita’s knowledge, Ostrander’s experience and Rashid’s technical skill, plus Kya’s familiarity with caring for Sangheili, and a team of Human medics, they had saved Usze’s life and put his leg back together.

Gita had argued that cybernetic implants might help Usze heal farther, but Kya had fought against the idea. Sangheili culture preached that the union of flesh and technology was an abhorrence against the gods; to do so was to use the divine technology of the Forerunners to shore up the weak, those whom the gods had already cursed with unworthiness. Kya secretly did not believe in the divinity of the Forerunners and never had; so she considered this prohibition to be nonsense. But more importantly, Usze did believe in these things, and she had to think of his mental state and not merely his physical condition. She did not wish to see him distraught enough to commit suicide.

In the end, though, it would be N’tho who would help Usze adjust to his current reality. Kya felt somewhat relieved that she did not know Usze ‘Taham very well on a personal level; it had made the operating easier. Now, though, when there was nothing more she could do for him, she found herself wondering what to do next.

She need not have worried. Gita, Rashid and Osstrander were staying in the area, to provide medical care to the Sangheili and learn more about them, and they offered Kya the opportunity to learn some Human medicine in exchange. Kya was excited to learn that on Earth, doctors were admired instead of reviled. She was fascinated by the things she was learning, and best of all, none of the Humans seemed to understand what the Mark of Punishment on her thigh signified. Osstrander called it a “tattoo,” whatever that was.

Here, in the company of aliens, she was finally a real person.

Her three co-workers were fascinated by Kya’s swollen belly; they were spending almost as much time examining her as they were in teaching her. Kya was grateful for the attention. It helped her to overlook how much she missed the company of her own kind.

She liked her human friends very much, but they were not the same as other Sangheili.

On the other hand…

She looked back over her shoulder, just in time to see a flicker of red disappearing into a nearby doorway.

The old warrior, Piro ‘Kipaz, had been shadowing her ever since they landed on Earth. She encountered him in the cafeteria of the medical wing, or on the beach every time she went swimming, or wandering the halls of the living quarters by night. He was polite if spoken to, but she was not certain she liked the way he seemed to be stalking her.

The egg she carried would not meet the same fate as its predecessors.

*-*-*-*

Two days later

Kya woke from sleep by a ripple of pain in her midsection.

The egg.

She had expected to lay within the coming week. But as a second ripple followed the first, Kya realized that the egg was coming early.

It was coming now.

So much for Gita’s hope to be present at the birthing, Kya thought. She fumbled on her nightstand with the communications device the Humans called a “cell phone.” Gita was on vacation with her family and would not be back in the area for three more days. She really ought to call Rashid, though, just in case…

A third ripple, sharp and powerful, ripped through her. Kya hit Rashid’s button on her speed dial and got his answering machine. She barely managed to choke out her name through the mounting pain.

She was a healthy female. She could probably lay this egg just fine on her own.

But why take chances?

She was trying to remember Osstrander’s number when the door to her room rattled. She had locked it. “Who is it?” she called, and then moaned in pain.

There was a single blast of plasma fire, and then the door was kicked open.

Kya squinted her eyes.

Red armour with the purple highlights of the 812th Assault Division. Orange predator’s eyes glowing in a wrinkled face. Smoke rising from a carbine rifle.

“Piro,” Kya gasped. She half-rolled, fumbling under her pillow. So, the old bastard had been hunting her, waiting for this moment. Well, she had prepared.

Piro stepped into her room, as though his name had been an invitation. He picked up her desk chair and deposited it at her bedside.

“Go away,” Kya snapped, half on her side, her lips curled in a hiss.

“The egg,” Piro said quietly. “You are laying, aren’t you?”

“I’ve laid eggs before,” she growled. “I don’t need your supervision. And you will not look at…”

Too late. The old Sangheili’s hand was already resting on her thigh, atop the branded sigil of the Mark of Punishment.

“This is something I have seen on my own son,” he murmured. “It means nothing to me. But if you do not wish me to see the rest of your body, I will sit here with my eyes closed.”

“I don’t see why you have to sit here at all!” Yelling at him was somehow easier than accepting the casual manner in which he had dismissed the Mark which had made her life a torment.

Piro’s gaze snapped to her face; his eyes burned into hers, suddenly impassioned. “I lost my bondmate to complications from egg-laying. I will not permit you to meet the same fate.”

Kya cringed at the vehemence in his voice. She knew it was possible for laying to go wrong—uncommon, but still possible.

And she had misread his intentions completely.

He was just trying to protect her, she told herself. The sentiment made her feel strange, uncomfortable. She was not used to being protected. She was not sure that she liked it.

“Do you even know what to do if I find myself in distress?” she muttered.

Piro ducked his head. “I will summon the surgical team with this,” he said quietly, holding up a Human telephone device.

“Will they respond, at this hour of the night?”

Piro’s cheeks turned purple.

Kya snorted in amusement. Clearly he had not thought of that.

“They are already standing by in the medical wing,” he murmured. “Osstrander, Rashid, and a team of medics.”

Kya choked. “You…”

“I told you I would look after you,” Piro said firmly.

Evidently he took his word seriously.

Another contraction shook her body. Kya closed her eyes, suddenly tired, and she still had an egg to lay. She had no energy to fight with Piro now.

“Very well. You may stay here…” she panted. “And make yourself useful. Give me your hand.”

Kya gripped Piro’s hand tightly in her own. Every time her body contracted, she squeezed. With her eyes closed, she found herself floating in a world that contained only a handful of sensations: the hot daggers in her body, the warm hand in hers, and the scent of Piro ‘Kipaz in her nostrils.