Mercenary Hearts

Author’s Note: I don’t know if Sangheili canonically lay eggs or have live births, as I don’t remember the issue being addressed in any official source.

Even if it turns out that Sangheili officially don’t lay eggs, there is a point for many fanfiction writers where new canon breaks away from what they’ve written in their stories. I therefore intend to stand by my “own” canon.

A chicken will carry its egg approximately a week, and then 3-4 weeks to hatch the egg. I’ve set the Sangheili gestation period (in the body) as two weeks, and then just under two months for the egg to hatch. Female Sangheili come into season once or twice a year, though they are only legally obligated to reproduce every other year, for reasons explained later in this story.

Mercenary Hearts

Chapter the Second: From the Ashes


Piro ‘Kipaz gritted his mandibles and said nothing as Kya ‘Pomor crushed his hand in her grip. By the Rings, the little nurse had strength in that slim frame of hers.

He watched Kya labouring to have her egg and wondered if he should phone the Human medics who he had placed on standby. How was he to know if there were any complications? He had not been at his mate’s side to see N’tho’s egg laid…he had not seen any of the eggs he had doubtlessly sired during the matings of his youth…

And, of course, he had not been there for his mate’s final egg, and he would be forever damned for that fault.

Kya had not seemed particularly grateful for his assistance, but she had little reason to trust him. He, after all, had been complicit in kidnapping her and dragging her here to Earth.

After the widest part of the egg was out, the rest was easy. One final push sent Kya’s egg sliding free of her. Her body and the bed beneath her was soaked in sweat. She drew a shuddering breath.

Piro gently freed himself from her grip. He stood and leaned over her, ready to pick up the egg, as a tumble of thoughts went through his mind—pleasure at the idea of a sister for Usze, sorrow at the manner in which the egg had been conceived, regret that he had never held N’tho’s egg this way.

“Get away!” Kya snapped, hauling herself to a sitting position. She snarled at him, mandibles flared.

Piro froze. “Kya, sit down, you’re exhausted.”

“Get away from my egg.”

“Kya, I…”

Kya reached under her pillow. When her hand came up, it was holding a plasma rifle.

“Get. Away.” She had the gun aimed straight at his head, and from the soft glowing lights on the barrel, it was active.

By the Ancestors, she had gone mad!

Piro held up his hands and took a slow step back.

“Get out.”

“Kya.” Piro did not want to leave her. She was still weak from the birthing, and he did not want the egg to be cracked by her writhing. “I won’t hurt you.” He swallowed hard. “I won’t hurt your young.”

“I do not believe you.” She hissed. “You asked me earlier if I wanted this egg.”

“Because Usze wants it if you do not,” Piro retorted. “That is his sibling in that egg.”

“And why would I not want it?”

Piro bowed his head. “Will you make me say it?”

Her eyes flashed. “Yes, I will make you say it!”

“Because it is not fair to your young if, every time you look at your child, you see Toha ‘Sumai’s reflection.”

Kya snorted and let the barrel of the rifle dip from his head to his midsection. “For a male over twice my age, you know nothing of breeding. Do you think I liked every male I ever mated with? Do you think all of them were nice? Even before I was branded with the Mark of Punishment, I did not always enjoy breeding—but it was a legal obligation and I did what was expected of me.”

Piro felt ill. He had taken her forcibly to Earth, he had failed to protect her from Toha, and he was only one of a chain of males who had failed her.

“It was all for naught anyway,” she said bitterly. “I was first bred at fourteen, but did not bear until I was eighteen. An illness came and took the life of my firstborn. Then I earned the Mark of Punishment and was forbidden to breed any longer.” Kya sighed. “It may not be bad, that you did not think of it this way. It is my guess that you have never bred a female who did not enjoy your advances.”

The old male shifted, clearly disturbed. “A day ago I would have agreed with you,” he said, his mandibles churning with disgust. “Now I find myself wondering. No, I have never forced myself on a female. But I wonder how many agreed to my offers out of legal obligation rather than desire.” He watched her weapon nervously. “Is that…”

“The plasma rifle I took from Toha ‘Sumai? Yes. It is.” She eyed him and then asked a question. “Your son N’tho, who wore the mark…they barred him from mating with females, did they not?”

Piro nodded.

“Because they did not want a punished one to reproduce.”

Piro nodded again.

“I was not to reproduce either. But they did not bar me from mating.” She smiled without mirth. “They simply smashed my eggs once they were laid.”

Piro’s mandibles gaped with horror, but on the heels of that shocking revelation was a hard, cold rage. He was no longer surprised that she had hidden a weapon beneath her pillow before laying her egg.

“And you thought that I would smash your egg, even though I know what hell the Mark of Punishment wrought on my son?”

Kya snorted. “Your son had the Mark due to the sins of his grandfather. It is different.”

Piro tilted his head. “Because you earned your Mark yourself?” he guessed.

Kya nodded.

Piro snorted. “I know of no crime where an unborn child is the one deserving of death.”

The female raised her eye ridge. “Do you then swear, Piro ‘Kipaz, on your life and your eternal soul, that you will not do harm to me or my egg?”

Piro could answer without hesitation. He dropped to one knee, despite the protests of his aching bones. “I swear to you, Kya ‘Pomor, that I will guard both you and your eggs for the rest of my life, and that I will never do harm to you or your children.”

He dared to raise his eyes to hers. The female, wide-eyed, put the safety on the rifle and laid it on the table.

“That is quite an oath, Major Domo ‘Kipaz.”

Piro hauled himself to his feet with the aid of the end table. He wished she was not watching him as for a moment he struggled not to sink back down to the floor. He gritted his mandibles and with one last push of strength, he forced his stiff body to obey his will. Standing before her now, he murmured, “I mean every word of it. It is the least I can do for taking you here against your will.” Piro bowed his head. “It is the least I could do for my failure to protect you from Toha.”

She snorted. “You did not know me then. Why should you care?”

“Do you think this makes you worthless?” He reached out to touch the Mark of Punishment on her thigh. “If I do not condemn my son for it, how can I condemn you?”

Kya looked uncomfortable. “I have heard you muttering with guilt,” Kya said, “feeling regretful for forcing me here. Rest assured, Piro ‘Kipaz, I could have fought you had I wished to—you know now that I had a weapon in my possession the whole time.” A cynical smile twisted across her features. “Did it never occur to you that perhaps I wished to flee the Fleet? What life was there for me among the Sangheili? Shunned by my own kind, forbidden from raising children, condemned to a lifetime of solitude? What did I have to lose by accompanying you?” She glanced around. “Here on Earth, the Humans treat me with respect. They have genuine interest in my knowledge and I have similar desire to learn from them. All I ask of you, Piro of the house of ‘Kipaz, and of your son and his bondmate, is that you leave me in peace to raise my young.”

“Your young is Usze ‘Taham’s sibling. He wishes to be an uncle to his brother or sister.” Piro folded his arms. “It is not an unreasonable request. It is in our species’ nature to share the raising of the young.” He looked her in the eyes. “We will not harm you, but we will not leave you alone either. This egg is Usze’s sibling and my nephew-by-marriage. Whether we like it or not, we are family.”

*-*-*-*

Two days later

Kya turned the egg over in the incubator and thought about Piro’s words to her on the day the egg had been laid.

Whether we like it or not, we are family.

Arranged marriages were common among the Sangheili. When she was little, she had expected that when she graduated Finishing School and came of age, she would be married to one of the Pomor Keep’s many allies. Her mother, the keep’s Captain of the Guard, expected her daughters to do their part in maintaining—or cementing—the keep’s relations with its neighbours and trading partners.

She had grown up knowing that she would not be able to choose her own mate. Her fondest dream was that her mother would find her a strong, handsome male to be her husband; someone who would be as kind to his wife as he would be ruthless to his enemies.

But then she had been caught. Caught, and shamed.

She had been brought before her mother, and instead of matching her with a husband, she had branded her with a hot iron and cast her out of the keep.

Kya had been very fortunate indeed that her aptitudes at Finishing School had been enough to allow her entry to a nursing college. Nurses, doctors, and other medical workers were already shamed; they did not mind her brand. The medical staff had become a second family, and they had soothed the pain of being cast out of the Pomor Keep.

She had tried to console herself that she was now free to choose her own mates, and she had done so, but none of the relationships had lasted.

She wondered if her mother would have chosen better after all.

This situation she was in now was very like an arranged marriage. Through the machinations of fate, she had come to live in this strange place, among these strange Sangheili. And they had been kind to her, accepting her as one of their own.

She wondered if that situation would last.

Her blood ran hot in her veins. Her insides ached. Her muscles quivered.

Ancestors have mercy on her. She was still in season.

*-*-*-*

Piro crept quietly down the corridor towards the incubation room, feeling like a thief, though he had every right to be there.

The egg contained Usze ‘Taham’s little brother or sister. Usze was his son-in-law, as the Humans described it. Family. This egg was his family, and he would tend it.

What else was there for him to do? He had spent his entire life fighting on demand, going where he was told, doing as he was ordered. He had no other talents, no other use. He was too old to learn a new skill.

The Covenant’s religion might have been a lie, but it was not the Covenant who had ordered that elderly, useless Sangheili commit themselves to the desert, that they might not burden their families and take meat from the mouths of the young. The Sangheili had known that of old. The coming of the Covenant had simply given the Sangheili plasma weapons and turned that final voyage from a literal journey into a symbolic one. There was no longer any need to limp into the burning sands; a shaking finger on a trigger could do the job far more swiftly.

And so Piro vowed not to be a burden on N’tho and Usze now. The notion that he was their Honour Guard was laughable. If nothing else, he could tend the little one. It would give him a reason to exist now that he no longer had to dedicate his life to watching over N’tho.

Piro opened the door and noticed Kya in silent vigil over her egg.

By the Rings, he hoped the female was sincere in her statement that she could forgive the little one its unfortunate origin. And yet, Kya had hidden a weapon to protect her egg. The nurse’s ferocity made Piro inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt.

He sidled up to her. “How is our little one?”

Kya smiled at him softly. “Warm. I can feel it turning beneath the shell.” She took his hand and placed it on the leathery shell of the egg. Piro marveled as he felt a knocking within, as though the new life swirling within was eager to stretch and explore.

He had seen so little of N’tho’s infancy. Piro had been with his battle unit, at war. It staggered him now, why more Sangheili fathers did not seek out a role with their young. Mentoring N’tho had been the most rewarding experience of his life.

And now that N’tho had a mate of his own…well…here was another young one for Piro to care for.

He peered over at Kya. She seemed sad, distant, and Piro felt a lash of regret sting through him. Piro and Usze had arrived in time to rescue N’tho, but not in time for Kya, and as a result, she had borne an egg to Toha ‘Sumai.

This egg should, at least, have been the product of a willing encounter.

“I am sorry,” Piro said softly.

“For what?”

“For…the origins of this little one.” He cleared his throat. “Kya, we had no idea what ‘Sumai and his associates had in mind for you…or we would have…”

Kya shook her head. “You need not indulge in falsehoods. Why would you have endangered yourself for a stranger? You took the risk for your son, as Usze took the risk for his mate. That is a reasonable thing. To do so for the likes of me would simply be a foolishness.”

She seemed to place precious little value on herself. Piro fidgeted uncomfortably. “I cannot help but feel guilt.”

“Then perhaps you could fulfill for me one simple request.”

Piro sighed. It was the least he could do. “Name it.”

Kya ‘Pomor looked him straight in the eyes and said, “I would have more young.”

He was taken aback by the young female’s bluntness. Yes, he owed her compensation for bringing her to Earth to care for his son’s injured bondmate, for tearing her away from her job and her home and everything she held familiar, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that she would lean in to look him in the eyes, filling his nostrils with the sweet perfume of a female in season, and demand more offspring as the price of her forgiveness.

She must have taken his stunned silence as argument. “I do not think this is an unreasonable request,” Kya said, folding her arms. “On Sanghelios, as a female with a Mark of Punishment, I was forbidden from reproducing. My eggs were destroyed before they hatched. Here on Earth I am free, and here on Earth I will have everything that Sangheili society forbade me to have. I will have more young, Piro ‘Kipaz. That is all I ask.” She bowed her head and said quietly, “N’tho is a fine Sangheili.”

Piro did not like where this conversation was going, not at all. N’tho had always had a weakness for…how could he put it? Promiscuity? It had caused trouble enough between N’tho and Usze. Piro had been secretly relieved that here on Earth, N’tho would not find any temptations to lure him from his bondmate’s side. Of course, he was also assuming that N’tho didn’t like females, which might not be entirely accurate. He had to consider that N’tho’s previous mates had all been male because, as a warrior with a Mark of Punishment, N’tho had been forbidden from mating with females. And now, here on Earth, there was a female in season who apparently had N’tho in her sights.

Piro did not want to see N’tho and Usze’s relationship fall apart. Not when Usze’s affection had finally given N’tho some sense of his own self-worth.

The older male cleared his throat. “N’tho and Usze…they are still struggling with their relationship. Please, Kya, do not impinge on them now. Give them time. Once they are secure, then one or both of them might consent to give you young, but not now…not so soon...please…”

Kya tilted her head and seemed suddenly sad. “Is that what you think of me, Piro ‘Kipaz? That I would interfere with a couple in love?”

Piro stared at her, confused. “You said N’tho was a fine Sangheili.”

Kya closed her eyes and bowed her head again. “I would have a son like N’tho.”

Piro still wasn’t sure what she meant, not until she leaned forward and placed her mandibles under his. His arms raised up instinctively, shocked by her sudden nearness, but when he put his hands on her shoulders, she pressed herself against him insistently. Her scent filled his every breath, causing the inevitable physical reaction. He found himself holding her instead of guiding her away. She murmured her encouragement, bunting him with her muzzle. Shocked, confused, her meaning percolated slowly through his mind until realization struck him like a lightning bolt.

She was not seeking N’tho to sire her young. She was seeking a child like N’tho. A sibling to N’tho.

Oh, by the Rings, he couldn’t do it. She was so young…young enough to be his daughter, his granddaughter, even. What could she possibly see in an old soldier like him?

Other than Usze and N’tho, you’re the only male on the planet.

And he had been concerned that she might come between Usze and N’tho, hadn’t he? What better answer than to take care of Kya’s desires himself? If nothing else, she would leave the other two alone.

“Oh, Kya,” he whispered, pulling his head back so his mandibles could form the words. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

She pulled away long enough to look at him with pleading eyes.

“Very well,” he whispered. “Meet me…” His voice broke. “Meet me tonight, on the beach, at sundown.”