Authors Note: At last, here is the first chap of Trials. If this is the first of the Zendou series you have seen, I highly recommend that you read the first two in the series (Isolation and Acceptance) first, as this one makes references to events/characters in both.
This particular story in the series contains scenes of intimacy and mild sex between two male OCs (hence the 'M' rating). If you dislike this sort of thing, I do not recommend reading this fic. There are also scenes of violence and mild swearing.
Lastly, big thanks to Luke-1539 for proofing this. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Halo, Sangheili, Rtas and Thel belong to Bungie Studios. However, Original Characters, like Zeno, belong to me.
Chapter 1: Full Circle
Zeno stretched as he awoke from another night's sleep. As he stretched, he brushed against something that was in the bed with him, something warm and soft. Zeno smiled as he turned and looked at his partner Miko, whom was still sleeping soundly beside him. Had it really been over two months since the cold planet mission? The mission that finally got it through his head that he was in love with this man?
He chuckled softly to himself, for it didn't matter: he and Miko were together now and that was what was important. Zeno snaked his head down to Miko's and gave his lover a light lick on the cheek. No, 'lover' is not an accurate word. He told himself as Miko moaned but did not awaken. Lover implied that they were mates and they had yet to mate. Indeed, the furthest they had gotten was heavy petting and sharing a bed as it was now.
So what did that make them? A couple? Partners? Yes, partners best described them. Why they had not taken it further he did not know. Someday he knew they would go further, but he was in no rush to do so. To be honest, he felt rather content as is.
Focusing on his partner once again, Zeno purred and gave Miko a light nip on the neck. Again, Miko stirred, but did not awaken. Oh, he is being stubborn this morning. He thought as a mischievous grin formed on his mandibles. This time, he gave him a big sloppy lick across his face, over one eye.
"Ugh!" Miko yelped as he finally awakened. "Zeno!"
Zeno giggled madly as he evaded a swipe from his partner. "Time to wake up sleepy head," he purred.
"Normal people just gently shake their loved one." Miko grumbled, wiping the 'Zeno spit' from his face.
"But it is not nearly as fun."
"Humph, I really am a bad influence on you," Miko retorted with a smirk. While Commander Anko was happy that they had gotten together like this, he was not too pleased that Zeno had developed a taste for playing pranks on people. The last prank they pulled involved a recording of drunken Unggoy singing and feeding it into a major's commline. The poor man thought he was going crazy when he could hear it but no one else did, until Zeno and Miko could no longer contain their laughter.
Naturally, the major complained, but Anko just shook his head. The commander tolerated their antics so long as they didn't actually physically harm anyone, though his son Rtas called it 'immature' and 'uncultured'. Most of the crew of the Seeker of Truth was fair game to their pranks, so long as they could either take a joke, or, as was more often the case, the two recon were able to out run their victim. One person they never, ever even considered playing a prank on was the supreme commander himself. This was partly out of respect, but mostly because the man, while a great leader, had absolutely zero sense of humor. Thel 'Vadumee would much more likely to kill them both on the spot then to laugh, so for that reason, he was on the pair's permanent 'do not prank' list.
"So what is on the agenda today?" Miko asked, stretching and basically showing off his body to Zeno, which he appreciated.
"I do not think we will have a chance to play any jokes today." Zeno replied, unable to resist rubbing Miko's belly, making him purr. "Before I turned in I heard the fleet was soon to exit slipspace."
"And our destination is no doubt another suspected or confirmed human controlled system. Which means we will likely be going on a mission?" Zeno nodded. "Oh well, at least we have another chance to show up Juwi."
"As sloppy as his work is, it is a wonder the commander has not kicked him off of recon."
"His work is, but his partner's makes up for it." Henun 'Fiteree, Juwi's recon partner, was a hard worker and a decent fellow to be around, unlike Juwi himself. "I am sure the commander would love to kick Juwi out of recon, but finding a replacement for Henun would be difficult."
"Surely not as difficult as it was to get you a new partner."
"Perhaps, but this war is dragging on longer then the hierarchs would like and it is hard for Anko to justify transferring potentials to his unit: you were lucky, in this regard."
Zeno nodded, understanding. "The humans are proving to be rather resilient and stubborn."
"Yes, qualities that could be useful in the Covenant, which makes me wonder why the noble hierarchs will not offer them admittance."
He growled lowly in his throat: not this again. If there was one thing they argued about, it was over the humans. "They are savage and barbaric," Zeno muttered. "Unworthy to be a part of the holy Covenant."
"No more savage or barbaric then the Brutes," Miko countered. "Which are fair less intelligent I might add and they got in."
"And I am certain the Brutes are more intelligent then their haggard appearance lets on."
"Bah! Highly unlikely!"
-Miko. Zeno.- Their comm console suddenly chirped with the voice of Commander Anko. –You are to report to the bridge in ten minutes.-
That effectively halted the growing argument in its tracks as both Sangheili scrambled to get their bodysuits and armor on. "Humph, guess no morning cuddle time for us today…." Miko muttered as he snapped the last piece of armor on.
"I am sure we will make up for it later." Zeno said as he did the same, and then patted Miko on the rear.
"Yes, indeed." Miko had a nice big grin on his face. "I owe you for that lick you gave me."
Zeno simply chuckled as they left their quarters and jogged to the bridge. When they arrived they were briefed on their mission. It was indeed another human controlled planet, so instead of their mission being to find evidence of human presence in general, they were to seek out the human camps and direct attack squads to them.
"With all due respect supreme commander," Miko said. "Why are we needed? It is clear the scanners have picked the locations of many of their camps."
"There are large areas of the planet that are scanners cannot penetrate." Thel replied, gesturing to one such spot on the holomap: the sector they were going to be exploring. "Whether it is due to the ecology of the region or the humans are using jamming devices, we cannot tell."
"Then our mission is the find any human encampments in this region and if they are using jamming devices, destroy them," Zeno said.
"Correct," Anko replied. "You will be deploying by drop pod within the hour. Gather the needed equipment quickly."
"Yes, commander." The pair said with a salute.
"Ew…Drop pods," Miko grumbled after they were dismissed. "I hate those things. So confining…."
"You do not seem to mind when I am embracing you," Zeno quipped.
"That, my dear, is different. Very different." There was a smile on his face.
The drop was quick, bumpy and terrifying. So many unknowns could happen; so many things could go wrong while trapped inside this pod. With no means to correct your course, to defend yourself if fired upon while dropping. Just…No control at all, until you landed. If you landed.
Zeno could see why Miko hated it so much.
With a sharp jolt, his drop pod landed. The on-board sensors immediately blew the door off and a rush of water came into the pod, up to his groin. Lovely, we landed in a swamp, he thought as he hopped out of the pod and immediately checked his surroundings.
It was a swamp all right. The area immediately around him was water with no land in sight. The only other thing besides the water was trees, which looked to be all the same species and varied in stages of growth. These trees had large broad leaves that filled the canopy above, resulting in a gloomy atmosphere.
Yet it was not cool here from lack of sunlight. No, Zeno could see wisps of stream rising from the water around him, hinting at geothermal activity in this region, meaning the water was hot, but so far not unpleasantly so. There was also a stench in the air, like some kind of natural gas produced by the region. Looking up, he could see a haze of this gas just under the canopy: it seemed the large leaves of the resident trees kept the gas from dissipating into the atmosphere. Zeno hoped this gas was not flammable.
"If you are done admiring the scenery, I could use some help here." Came a slightly muffled voice.
Zeno turned and chuckled when he saw Miko's drop pod. It had landed between two smaller trees and as a result, the door did not pop off all the way. Zeno made his way to his partner's pod, though progress slowed down by the water and studied the situation a moment. Then he took one of his swords and simply cut down the tree.
The tree fell with a splash and Miko was finally able to kick the door off. He then hopped out and found the water over his hips. "This is going to make our job difficult," he muttered.
"Indeed." Zeno agreed, turning his blade off and putting it back on his hip.
"What blade is that by the way?"
"Kisen, a blade from my keep: just got it and its twin the other day."
"Ah, so those special requisitions finally went through for you. Let us hope we get to baptize them with the blood of our foes today."
Zeno nodded in agreement.
Progress through the swamp was slow and tedious. If it wasn't the water slowing them down, it was the thick sticky mud under its surface and if it wasn't the mud, it was a tangle of trees and vines they had to cut through. On top of that, the water seemed to get hotter as they went on.
"I am starting to doubt any humans would be occupying this region," Zeno muttered after they had been searching for a couple of hours.
"Agreed," Miko muttered as he struggled to free his foot from the sticky mud. "We have seen no signs, no hints of their presence here. It appears your blades will be disappointed today."
-Miko. Zeno.- Anko's voice announced on their comm. -What is your status?-
"Hot, sticky, wet and with no humans to vent our frustrations on," Miko responded.
-Just as well, I need you to go to these coordinates.- A waypoint appeared on their HUDs. –One of the strike squads from another fleet has gotten into a bit of trouble and requires assistance.-
"What sort of trouble, commander?"
-The field master in charge did not say. The supreme commander did not want to commit a whole squad for such a vague request.-
"So find out what the problem is and report back."
-Affirmative.-
"We are on our way, commander." After he signed off, Miko muttered. "Great, since when did we go from the recon unit to the babysitting unit?"
"Miko let us just go and get it over with. The sooner we get there and find out what is going on, the sooner we get back to our real mission," Zeno said.
Miko grudgingly agreed.
The way got easier as they approached the coordinates Anko gave them, much to their relief. Swampland gave way to a normal forest, within which various ruins started becoming apparent. "Forerunner," Miko said, running a hand down the smooth surface of one said ruin. "That explains why the fleet has not decided to just cleanse the planet with our holy fire."
"Indeed, the risk of destroying these priceless ruins would be too great," Zeno said. Then suddenly a whiff of a scent reached his olfactory senses, a scent that was familiar. No…It cannot be, he thought, his eyes widening. Memories started to surface, memories that once put fear into his hearts, but now only made him bitter and hateful.
Then as quickly as it came, the scent disappeared.
"Zeno, you alright?" Miko asked.
"I-I am fine," Zeno replied, shaking his head. "I thought I smelled something I recognized."
"An alien world, alien scents, would not be surprised if some of them remind you of something. Come, we are getting close to the target location."
Zeno hoped he was correct.
Moments later, they came across the body of a major domo. "Looks like there was some fighting here," Miko said as he continued on. "They must have encountered humans."
Zeno wasn't so sure. "Miko, this major's weapons are still attached to his armor," he pointed out.
"Caught by surprise then. Foolish to let your guard down in enemy territory, though it is odd that a major would make such a stupid mistake."
"Yes, strange indeed."
"Let us go, the field master's camp should be just ahead."
Miko continued on, but Zeno hesitated. Out of curiosity, he rolled the major over to see what killed him. What he found made him sick.
Dead center on his muzzle was the cause of death: a circular patch of blown away flesh and bone. Flesh and bone that was burned by the unmistakable able signs of plasma. Zeno growled and closed the major's eyes, the look of surprise in them all too evident. He then jogged the short distance to catch up to Miko, suspicions playing in his head. That major was slain by a plasma rifle, which could only mean two things. Either the humans got a hold of some of their weapons, or one of their own killed him.
Before he could voice his suspicions to Miko however, they arrived at the camp. The camp was essentially the ruins of a small Forerunner building. The only friendly forces they could see right away was a group of three Unggoy and two minor domos. The two minors looked nervous and anxious: something bad must have happened to spook them like this, but what could it have been? He got his answer seconds later.
The scent was back, this time strong and unmistakable. Zeno started feeling anger and rage fill his hearts as the source finally made its presence known.
Field Master Yuteri 'Wamotee