Cross Blades

Cross Blades

Chapter the Twenty-First: Future’s Dawn


Usze ‘Taham blinked his eyes, wondering why the light was so painfully bright. His left leg burned like fire. He took a deep breath; harsh chemicals assaulted his nostrils. Where was he? Who in their right mind would make walls and ceilings white?

“Hey there,” came a quiet voice by his side.

Usze turned his head to see Nitro sitting by the side of his bed. He was wearing Human clothing again; a new scar twisted across his muzzle. ‘Taham lifted his hand; it felt weak and unresponsive, but when Nitro took it, Usze smiled to feel the warm caress of the younger warrior’s fingers.

“What happened? Where are we?”

N’tho seemed nervous. “We’re on Earth.”

“Earth?” Usze demanded. How the hell had they gotten to Earth? Surely he hadn’t just dreamed everything….no, he could see the slash on his arm that he’d received from Toha ‘Sumai, and his leg hurt far too much for him to be imagining it.

“Yeah. Hey, lie back and relax. You’re pretty messed up. You’ve been out for weeks; we put you in stasis during the trip to Earth. Then Kya Pomor and the Human doctors spent a few hours in surgery putting your leg back together.”

Usze groaned. “How much dishonour is that going to heap on me?”

“Submitting to surgery? I dunno, after whacking another Blademaster and assisting in a mutiny, not to mention betraying the Ascetic Order, and willingly skinning off my Mark of Punishment, is there really any farther down that you can go?” N’tho licked him.

Usze shook his head. “How bad is it?” he whispered.

N’tho fidgeted.

“Nitro, how bad is my leg?”

‘Sraom swallowed nervously. “They think you’ll be walking again eventually.”

“Eventually,” Usze repeated dully.

“Uzi.” N’tho’s eyes shimmered.

“I need to know,” ‘Taham insisted. He was afraid of the answer.

A Perfect Warrior does not halt because of fear, his training insisted.

“That hammer…it shattered the bone in your thigh.”

Usze’s eyes darkened. He let out his breath slowly, feeling sick. “I’m crippled.”

“We’ll teach you to walk again.”

That wasn’t anywhere near good enough. Usze insisted acidly, “Will I be a Swordsman, Nitro? Will I be fighting again?”

‘Sraom hung his head. “No.”

“And you know what happens to warriors crippled in battle. I’m too injured for combat, but too functional for a mercy kill. I’ll be sent back to Sanghelios as a breeder.” He bit down on his mandibles. “And you know where my bloodline will land me. Back in the Temple on Iruiru.”

“No. No, it won’t.”

Usze scowled. “And how do you propose to stop ten ages of Sangheili tradition?”

N’tho shrugged. “You’re marooned on Earth, Uzi. There is no way back.”

Usze’s eyes widened as he finallly grasped the implications of their flight.

N’tho looked out the window. “Look at me, Usze. I murdered a Shipmaster. I was also involved in the death of my immediate superior, Rycl ‘Otsed.”

‘Taham released a breath. “Rycl died.”

N’tho nodded. “Fil says he was still alive when a medical crew arrived, but he wouldn’t let them operate on him. Said he’d acquired too much shame to live with, and he’d rather they let him die. They agreed to honour his wishes.” ‘Sraom sighed. “You’re so very right, Uzi. We’ve got to stop killing ourselves rather than live with our mistakes.” He stroked his mate’s cheek. “Rycl wasn’t a bad guy. SpecOps is poorer for the loss of him. Vaa’s in charge, now, but nobody knows if he’s going to be up to the job.”

“So you’ve been talking to Fil.”

“We had to tell her we broke the Phantom and weren’t bringing it back. She’s not as angry as she pretended to be.” He managed to laugh. “She’s got her claws full commanding Shadow of Intent.”

“Rtas let her stay on as Shipmaster?”

“Either that, or he’s too afraid of her to try to take the rank away from her.” He grinned.

Usze sighed, but he couldn’t hide his smile. “At least she won’t be able to hit me up for any favours.”

“You’d be surprised. She’s got this huge list of Earth stuff she wants us to send her…” Nitro sighed. “Anyway…you’re right about ten ages of tradition. ‘Gamul, ‘Lymux and ‘Sumai deserved what they had coming, but our names are still going to be dirt in the fleet, and we’ve both of us lost our blades.”

“You…”

“Toha stripped my Swordsman status.”

“I’ll give it back.”

“You can’t. You’re not a Blademaster any more.” He nudged his mate with his muzzle; Usze realized that Nitro’s scar was where Toha’s blade had scalded him. “It doesn’t even matter, Usze. ‘Gamul had friends. They’d be gunning for me. Just like the Ascetics will still be gunning for you. And we don’t have Fil Storamy’s network of favours, alliances, and intelligence in place to back us up. There’s no way home for us.” He shrugged. “So I figured, what better place for us to be exiled to? Sanghelios needed ambassadors to Earth, particularly ones that the Arbiter could trust; we already have glowing war records and experience with the Humans. It’s a perfect fit. And if the Ascetics try sending anyone here after us, Earth’s got a fleet and a whole whack of MAC guns to send ‘em packing again. ‘Vadum went for it right away.”

“You asked…Rtas?”

“Yeah.” He smiled guiltily. “After we landed here.”

“I didn’t even know you could fly a Phantom.”

“I can’t.” He nuzzled Usze’s cheek. “But Piro can. Used to, actually. He didn’t forget how.”

“You crazy fool.”

“Yeah.”

“You.” Usze swallowed hard. “You’re stuck here because of me. All of you. Piro and Kya.”

N’tho snorted. “Don’t feel too bad about Piro and Kya.”

“All because of me…they…”

“Piro’s been resisting retirement for years. So as soon as we landed…” N’tho shrugged. “Breaking the Phantom was his idea. I know how to fix it, but he won’t let me.” N’tho winked.

Usze heard a scuffling sound and there stood the subjects of the current conversation. Piro ‘Kipaz was dressed in a black Sangheili-style tunic and looking very sleek indeed. By his side was Kya Pomor, wearing a short sari of colourfully patterned fabric.

“Well, N’tho, you’ve got a handsome one there. Shame he’s not very bright.” Piro peered down at Usze with a familiar crooked grin.

‘Taham wrinkled his muzzle, utterly bewildered. “What?”

“Listen to me, young one, you should feel no guilt. There are much worse fates for a used-up old warrior than spending the rest of his days lying in the sun, watching the little ones play.”

Usze blinked. “Little ones?”

Kya pointed off to the side, where a large machine hummed softly. Usze wasn’t sure what he was looking at until Kya lifted the lid and carefully picked up one of the two objects inside.

They were eggs.

Sangheili eggs.

Usze closed his eyes. “Oh, Kya,” he breathed. “Are those from…from what my father did to you?”

“Just one of them,” N’tho said. “The other was only laid yesterday, leading me to suspect that someone else is responsible for it…” He folded his arms and glared meaningfully at Piro—an expression that looked remarkably Usze-like.

The old Sangheili gave them both an innocent smile that looked guilty as sin to Usze.

“So,” Usze said. “Another where Nitro came from. Is the universe ready?” Then he turned his attention to the nurse. “Kya. You do not want us to ask the Fleet to send a ship for you?” Even as he spoke the words, he knew it would be a long time before the Arbiter and Rtas could spare a vessel and a pilot.

“This is a strange world,” Kya said quietly, returning the egg to its incubator, “but I have no regrets. I will raise my young to be free and strong, far from the people who would hold children responsible for a parent’s sin.” Kya lifted the corner of her skirt to reveal a Mark of Punishment stamped on her left thigh. “On the Fleet they would smash my fertile eggs so I would not reproduce. No longer.”

“Exile,” Usze mused, taking Nitro’s hand. “But we are together.”

N’tho nodded. “Yeah. And hey, you know Human ambassadors live in swanky houses and go to fancy dinners, and wear expensive clothes, and act all important and stuff. You’ll fit right in.” He grinned. “And I’ll embarrass you regularly.”

There was a time Usze ‘Taham would rather have died than lived with these shames: an exile, a cripple, a companion of outcasts. There was a voice in him still, insisting that he did not want to live under these conditions.

But that voice was quieter than it used to be.


One month later

N’tho ‘Sraom woke up screaming.

In his dream, he was back in Epse ‘Gamul’s stateroom, chained to the floor. In his dream, Usze had arrived too late.

N’tho flared his mandibles and sucked big gulps of air into his lungs, trying to tell himself it was nothing but unconscious fears running amok in his sleeping brain. He was on Earth. Epse was dead. He was safe.

But as he curled into a shuddering ball in his bunk, he could not fool himself into thinking that everything was okay. To claim so would be a disservice to Kya, for whom the rescue really had come too late. Even though she treated both her young equally—even though she referred to her first-hatched as “Usze’s sister”—N’tho knew that Kya also screamed at night.

And then there was Usze.

N’tho had never been a month without sex before, not since he’d been branded with the Mark of Punishment. At first he had restrained himself deliberately, knowing that Usze needed time to heal. At first it wasn’t so hard. Nitro was skittish after his near miss with Epse.

But now, weeks had dragged into a month. N’tho was still too timid to make any overtures. And the easy answer—waiting for Usze to reach out for him, to send his fears fleeing before his rising desire—had never happened. Usze busied himself with obsessive physiotherapy and his new role as Ambassador, drawing back into that Aescetic shell. They spent their days together, and they were affectionate, but it was the affection of family, not of lovers. At night, Uzi slept in the hospital ward, leaving Nitro alone in a cold bed. N’tho cherished Usze’s friendship, but he needed more.

N’tho drifted off into an uneasy sleep and dreamed again. This time, he saw himself sneaking out of the base in the middle of the night, fixing the Phantom, flying it back to Shadow of Intent, and begging Vaa ‘Moiril to mate with him again…

This time N’tho woke up crying.

His body was on fire and his throat was tight, but he didn’t want to mate with Vaa ‘Moiril.

Did he?

By the Rings, maybe subconsciously he did. His damn traitorous body desired sex, and worse, his aching hearts demanded comfort. Those two urges had alwys been his downfall.

But not this time. He and Usze had not come so far just to have their bond unravel now. Nitro could bear this empty room no longer. He had a problem to fix.

He got up, pulling on his shirt and pants, and padded out into the hall. He moved through the base like a ghost, driven by a sense of purpose he’d never felt before, until he found himself standing just outside Usze’s door.

A loud clatter ripped the night, followed by a foul curse and a moan of torment.

N’tho kicked the door open. Usze knelt on the floor, a tipped walking-cart on its side before him, with his claws digging deeply into the meat of his fisted hands. He wore a simple white tunic. His mandibles churned in agony. N’tho was by his side before Usze realized he was no longer alone.

“Leave me,” the former Blademaster growled.

“No.”

Uzi glared daggers at Nitro, but the younger Sangheili didn’t care. He picked Usze up, ignoring his protestations, and laid him back in the narrow bunk. Then he curled up beside him and flung his arms over his mate.

“I mean it,” Usze growled. “I don’t want you seeing me like this.” Nitro could hear the self-disgust in Uzi’s voice.

“I can’t go,” N’tho whispered. “I need help.”

Usze’s scowl slipped into an expression of concern. “What do you mean, you can’t go?”

“I’m having nightmares all the time. I need you to help me. Please.”

“Oh, Nitro.” Usze licked him, once, before he pulled away and looked down at himself in shame. “How can I help you like this?”

N’tho rolled over, pressing his body against the front of Usze’s. “It’s been so long since we mated…I’m so lonely. I feel so unwanted. I feel so scared. I feel so alone.”

Uzi sucked in a breath. “N’tho…can you not wait for me to recover?”

“No,” N’tho replied, his eyes shut. “That could be months. Years." The unspoken never hung between them. "I can’t wait that long.”

Usze sighed regretfully. “Do you need…someone else, then?”

Nitro pulled away and rolled onto his belly, turning his head to glare at his mate. “No, I need you, dumbass!” Nitro snapped. “I don’t want anyone else. That’s sort of another reason I’m glad to be on Earth. I don’t have temptations.” ‘Sraom shivered. “I’m the weak one, Usze, not you. I can’t deal with things alone. And…it’s not fair for you to make me wait until you think you’re perfect. I need you—just as you are—right now.”

Usze snorted, his voice dripping acid. “I disgust myself. I’m pathetic. I don’t know how you can feel any desire for a cripple.”

There was an urge in Nitro to roll over and seduce his mate. To stroke Usze with soft touches and long licks, to coax Uzi until his desire burned away his inhibition. Yet Nitro sensed that tempting Usze to submit would do the former Blademaster no favours. What Usze really needed was his old authority back.

And in all honesty, N’tho needed it too.

“I need you, Ambassador,” N’tho whispered as he rolled back onto his side and lined himself up in a mating position. “I need you to tear off my pants and fuck me, fuck me hard. Leave your scent all over me so there’s no question who I belong to. Make me yours and order me to tear out the throat of anyone who dares question your ownership of me. Take me and master me.”

“I can’t!”

N’tho moved his hips back, pressing against Usze; he could feel his mate growing hard against him, and he smiled. Despite the submissive nature of his words, N’tho had deliberately chosen this position. Usze, spooned behind him, had his body’s weight on his strong leg, and no weight on his injured leg. Usze would not have to struggle to hold position during their mating.

“Yes,” N’tho whispered, pressing back against Uzi again. “Yes, you can.”

Usze growled.

Then N’tho realized to his shock that Uzi had taken tear off my pants very literally. Before Nitro knew what was happening, Usze’s claws had ripped the crotch seam right out of his pants; fabric tore and frayed. No matter what had happened to Usze’s leg, the rest of him was still lightning-fast and…

Usze’s upper hand splayed over Nitro’s belly.

Usze’s shaft played over the opening of Nitro’s vent.

The folds of Usze’s tunic—pulled up to quickly bare ‘Taham’s lower half rather than properly removed—pressed into Nitro’s back.

N’tho moaned. Usze had never been so rough and so fast and it was turning him on more than he’d ever thought possible.

Uzi’s voice was hot in Nitro’s earbud. “Once I am inside you, N’tho ‘Sraom, you will be the Ambassador’s Consort. If you do not wish to belong to me, body and soul, speak now, or be bound to me forever.”

N’tho shivered, but this time, from pleasure. “Mount me, my lord Ambassador. I accept your judgment.”

Usze pressed backwards with his hand and surged forward with his hips at the same time, guiding himself into his mate, driving himself to the hilt with one powerful thrust.

“Epse can’t have you,” Usze growled. “Nobody else can have you. You’re my mate. Mine,” he emphasized just before sinking his teeth into the nape of N’tho’s neck.

Nitro mewled. ‘Sraom felt a sudden fear that with his whole body nerveless, he could no longer help Usze along—but Uzi didn’t need the help. He grabbed N’tho’s hips and pulled Nitro roughly against him, driving himself deep, deep inside…
Yes, this was exactly what he’d needed. N’tho felt Usze’s claws biting into his chest, heard his mate moan in pleasure as he released his tension into N’tho’s waiting body….only to harden again.

This was what they’d both needed.

*

Usze had been hesitant at first that he might accidentally remind Nitro of Epse ‘Gamul. He hadn’t been ready for Nitro’s explicit dirty talk and it had shocked him—and unnerved him. He certainly didn’t feel very dominant or powerful when he spent most of his days letting N’tho push him around in a wheeled chair, or limping behind a little cart as he learned to walk again.

But Nitro was right. He was an Ambassador. He and Nitro were doing a job that no other Sangheili could do, and Usze did not need the physical skills of a Blademaster to excel at his position.

And, he was discovering right now, he certainly had physical skills enough to make N’tho come screaming.

Usze allowed himself a smug smile. He was still good for something after all.

He whispered, “Oh dear, Nitro, I do believe you have a fetish for superior officers.”

“Yes…” N’tho mewled. “Yes sir.”

It amazed Usze that a warrior as powerful as Nitro could actually desire to submit. He supposed he should not question his good fortune. It felt so good to be back in charge again. It felt so good to feel strong once more.
But he could not become complacent. He had been turning down the Humans’ offers of a leg brace, but perhaps his decision had been premature. Usze might be able to kneel for a fair amount of time with the help of such a device. He doubted N’tho would be bothered by the sight…what little he’d see of it. N’tho would either be facedown in front of him, or else have his fangs buried in Usze’s nape, and either way, he’d probably be too aroused to keep his eyes focused….

But that was tomorrow. Tonight he’d order N’tho to climb on top of him, straddle him, and slide right down onto his shaft. He’d tell Nitro to pump his hips and do all the work…at Uzi’s command. Usze would just put his hands behind his head, watch the show, and enjoy the inevitable results. He’d let Nitro decline if he wished, but Usze doubted that the younger warrior would. In fact, Usze was willing to gamble that Nitro would absolutely love that order.

If Nitro did a good job, Usze thought that he might fancy spending a little more time on his back with N’tho inside him.

And if the brace was late in arriving…well…perhaps he could breed Nitro somewhere where he’d have something else to hold onto while he thrust into his mate. Something like, perhaps, the sides of a Mongoose. Nitro was so terribly smug about that Warthog incident…how would he feel to find himself bent over a Mongoose, being mounted and ridden?

It might well start a war between them, Uzi realized. Hornets. Scorpions. Wolverines. There was all manner of human machinery that could be appropriated for sexual games.

And be damned if the thought didn’t intrigue him.

But he would have to think about that later. Right now, N’tho was doing things to him that drove all rational thought away.

*

Usze was nudging him, but N’tho hesitated, curling up into a ball instead. The sex had been a little rough, but it had also felt great. Nitro didn’t need to worry about anything when Usze was taking command of him.

Now that Usze was no longer inside him, though, Nitro started to feel that same sick, lonely feeling that always came with being fucked hard and then discarded. He wondered if this kind of sex would be tainted forever for him.

“Roll over,” Usze murmured, softly but commandingly, and N’tho found himself obeying instinctively.

Uzi wrapped an arm over him and began to lap his muzzle and throat. The soothing licks felt pleasant, but out of place. N’tho forced a laugh. “You don’t have to bother with foreplay, Uzi. You already fucked me good.”

“This is afterplay,” the Ambassador mumured in N’tho’s earbud.

Nitro quivered. “What’s afterplay?”

“It’s what happens after you drive your mate wild in bed. You hold him close, lick him, caress him…” Usze nuzzled him. “And make sure he knows how much you love him.”

N’tho exhaled a sigh of relief. The cold, sick, lonely feeling was washed away by a warm, comforting sensation as Usze held him near and cherished him. He could do no less in return, and it felt even better to stroke his mate’s shoulders through the tunic Usze still wore. “Thank the Ancestors…” He licked Usze back. “I love you too. I think I could get used to afterplay.”

“I hope you do,” Uzi murmured. “I hope we do it a lot.”

“We almost made the same mistakes.” N’tho shut his eyes. “We almost made the same mistakes again.”

“You didn’t let me,” Usze whispered. “And I won’t let you.”

“But are we ever going to get it right?”

“It’s right, right now, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but…” N’tho gulped. “What about tomorrow?”

“One day at a time,” Usze murmured and licked him again. “But we’ll start tomorrow off right. Will you stay with me tonight?”

“Yes.” N’tho swallowed and opened his eyes. “Then…would you like to move into our room?”

“Our room,” Usze repeated, then winked. “Not yours with me in it?”

N’tho laughed. “No. Ours.”

They cuddled for a while until Nitro asked, “Do you think it gets easier with practice? Being mates, I mean. Getting it right.”

Usze nodded. “I think it will. But I don’t think it’s ever…over, if you understand what I mean.”

“You mean we have to keep working at it. Every day.”

“Yes.”

“I think we can do that.” N’tho smiled. “You support me. I support you. And we take it one day at a time.”


Five months later

Usze ‘Taham limped across the top of the bluff, leaning heavily on the crutch beneath his left arm. He stared at the setting sun on the horizon for a moment and then turned his muzzle into the wind. The breeze off the sea felt cool and fresh on his skin. He wondered how many other small joys he’d missed out on in the past years.

On the beach below, Piro ‘Kipaz and Kya Pomor splashed through the waves on all fours, each gripping a hatchling gently in their jaws. Kya’s belly was already rounding with the swell of another egg. Usze watched the little family and wondered how he ever could have considered a life of barren pride to be worthwhile. What was the point of sacrifice, if not to make such small miracles possible?

There was a scrabbling sound behind him, and Usze’s mandibles curled into a smile as he remembered that he did not have to watch the little family from a distance. He was a part of it.

“What’cha doing?” Nitro asked, sticking his muzzle too close to Usze’s face and sniffing him.

“Acclimating myself to my new life,” Usze responded, and licked his mate. “Help me down?”

There was a time he’d rather have fallen on his own sword than asked for help to do something so simple as sitting down, but his life had become something very different in the months since.

“It’s getting dark,” N’tho replied, though he did as Usze asked, assisting his partner until they were both seated on the rocks.

“Humans say it’s romantic to watch the sun set,” Usze said as he pulled his tattered purple cloak around his shoulders—the same doarmir-fur cloak that had once adorned N’tho’s bed, now sporting stitches and patches but still warm against the night air.

“Oh, so you’ve been doing your research again?” N’tho teased, curling up beside his mate.

“Not so well that I don’t need your help.”

‘Sraom grinned smugly. “I got some research for you. Something I learned today.”

“Do tell.”

“Well, you’re not a Blademaster any more, and Toha took my sword away. So we’re not Swordsmen. So we can get married.”
Usze frowned—he’d been trying not to dwell on the things he’d lost. “Why would you want to get married? Who would you even get married to?”

“No, that’s the research part, stupid. Humans will let two males get married. You know, to each other.”

Usze’s eyes widened as the implications became clear.

“Wanna marry me, dumbass?”

Uzi’s mandibles churned. “Ah…”

“You support me, I support you, one day at a time, for the rest of our lives.” N’tho tilted his head. “Well?”

Usze managed to croak out, “Fuck yeah.”

N’tho laughed. “See, I knew it. We are bad influences on each other. You got me exiled and almost killed, and I’ve taught you to cuss.”

“You’ve taught me other bad habits too,” Uzi said slyly. “Later on I’ll show you some.”

“I think I’d like that. Very much.”

Uzi put his arm around the other warrior, folding the cloak’s tail around Nitro’s back. N’tho tilted his head, resting it on Usze’s shoulder, and together they watched the sun disappear and the stars come out.

Usze wondered how many sunsets it would take before the alien constellations became familiar—before this strange planet began to feel like home. He wasn’t certain. N’tho’s warmth against him, though, suggested that both of them might not be that far from home after all.


FINIS

Author's Note: I'd like to thank everyone who stayed with "Cross Blades" through to the end.

I plan to write more stories--check back in July for the next story, "Mercenary Hearts." (Real life obligations will prevent me from getting it out any sooner). This story is a sequel of sorts to Cross Blades and will give Piro a little more background that I couldn't do here in this story, since this one was told from Usze and N'tho's viewpoints.