Authors Note: Thanks to my beta for proofing this.

Disclaimer: Halo, Sangheili, Rtas, Thel/Arbiter and other canon characters belong to Bungie Studios/343 Industries. However, Original Characters, like Zeno, belong to me.


Chapter 7: Hashin

Sani leaned on the railing as he looked out the window, admiring the planet below. It had been a few days since he helped Zeno deal with his grief and he had noticed Zeno seemed more cheerful then before. It made Sani feel happy that he was able to return some of the favor, to give back some of the kindness Zeno has shown him. While the threat of Runi and the Second Master was still there, it felt so far away and Sani was more worried about another little problem that had been growing since he got here.

He was falling in love with Zeno 'Ribal.

Sani didn't know if Zeno was starting to feel the same way toward him or not, but he was certain of his own feelings. He did feel, however, that Zeno was starting to see him as a friend at least, considering the time they spent together: Zeno even had an extra bed put into his room, in case Sani needed to be close to him, which had to mean something. When Zeno wasn't helping him train or learn the human's language, they often just sat around and talked. Zeno was quite interested in his keep, which Sani was happy to tell him more about. In turn, Zeno had started telling him about his exploits, the missions he went on, the pranks he and Miko pulled. Zeno had certainly lead an interesting life.

And now Sani was waiting here in one of the recreation rooms on the station. If he remembered right, this was the very one the Arbiter was nearly killed in by an assassin years ago. It caused a shiver to go up his spine just thinking about it and he hoped Zeno would arrive soon. The ambassador wanted to try a new eatery that had just opened up and Sani was getting hungry.

"Sani 'Hilvum?"

The voice wasn't Zeno's and it wasn't one he recognized either. Turning, he saw an older male Sangheili standing a few feet away. This male had yellow ochre skin, orange eyes, and a chunk of his left brow missing. His attire was Sangheili style civilian clothing, but he spied a suit of light armor underneath it. Sani felt himself tense, his gut telling him that something wasn't right.

"Yes?" he said politely. "Can I help you?"

"I need you to come with me," the man said simply.

"Why? To where? Did the ambassador send you?"

"Second Master Ruro 'Comew has tasked me with your return to the Shadow of the Intent," the man said flatly. "To stand judgment for the desertion of your post."

Sani felt like he was just kicked in the gut. That damn Second Master had sent a hashin after him! "No," Sani said with a growl, starting to edge toward the exit. "I will not go back. The ambassador will not allow it, not after what I have been through."

"The so-called ambassador has no authority here as far as I am concerned," the hashin said with a snort as he started to approach him. "I would suggest coming along willingly, it would be a lot easier on the both of us and I would rather not cause a scene."

The hashin reached out for him and Sani reacted, grabbing his arm and twisting it as he had been taught. With a startled yelp, the man was flipped over. Sani stood there for a brief moment, a bit shocked that he was actually able to pull it off. Then his mind reminded him that he really should run.

Sani turned and bolted, the hashin yelling for him to stop. He knew Zeno would not be happy about this development at all once he found out. That was, of course if he can get to him before the hashin caught him…


Zeno was running late.

The last meeting took longer than expected and Zeno was only just heading back to his quarters to change. Zeno was half-tempted to meet up with Sani as he was, though he absolutely hated wearing this ambassador armor and didn't like wearing it any longer then he had to. He hoped Sani would understand, though he couldn't think of a reason why not. Hopefully this new eatery would be worth the wait.

"That color clashes so much with your skin tone."

Zeno stopped in his tracks. He did hear what he just heard? Turning, his eyes confirmed the identity of the voice. "Henun!" Zeno said, pleasantly surprised to see his old friend here. Henun looked like he was well, a faint smirk on his face and his yellow-orange eyes as bright as ever. "I see you finally took up on my suggestion to visit Earth to see human art."

"Well, I am officially here on business," the older Sangheili confessed. "But I fully intend to check out the art while I am here."

"Two birds with one stone, as the humans would say. What kind of business are you here for?"

"I was actually hoping you could help out with it, you see…."

"Ambassador." Sesai suddenly popped up on a console next to him, startling both of them. "There is a situation."

"Hold that thought, Henun, I should see to this," Zeno said apologetically.

"Wha…what is that?" Henun asked.

"Station AI," Zeno replied, turning his attention fully to Sesai. "What is going on, Sesai?"

"Sani is currently being chased around the station by another Elite of unknown intent," the AI said calmly.

Zeno's temper immediately started to flare. "What?" he growled. "I thought it was clear to all stationed Sangheili that Sani was not to be touched. Alert the security teams, I want that man stopped." As he turned to apologize to Henun for the short conversation, he saw that his friend looked panicked. He had a bad feeling he knew why. "You know this man?" Zeno said with a snarl.

"I…I do," Henun said softly, lowering his head. "I work with him…we are hashin."

"What!" Zeno could not believe his ears. "I thought you were going to work in the security field?"

"They rejected me because of my arm," Henun said bitterly. "Please, Zeno…do not hurt Joran! If I had known about Sani being under your protection…."

"Can you call him off?"

"I…I can try, but he is the stubborn type."

"Try then. We will need to discuss this after Sani is safe. Sesai, where is Sani now?"

"Running through deck 2, section B, heading toward the marketplace." Sesai replied. Behind him, he heard Henun talking to someone, likely Joran. "Ambassador, they are moving too quickly for the security teams to intercept," Sesai added.

"I will handle it myself then. Can you direct Sani to my location?"

Sesai answered after a brief moment. "Affirmative, ambassador."

"Good. Henun?"

"As I feared, he will not listen," Henun said regretfully.

"Looks like I will have to use physical persuasion then," Zeno grumbled. "I will try not to hurt him too much, Henun."

"Thank you…."


He was lost, he just knew it. On top of that Sani felt himself tiring from this prolonged chase, while the hashin behind him was gaining. If he didn't find Zeno or some form of help soon….

No, I will not give up, Sani thought bitterly. My life was just starting to look up to give up now. I will fight to the death if I have to.

Then strange things started happening. Doors ahead of him started closing, leaving only one possible route to go. When there weren't enough any doors, one of the signs would change into an arrow, indicating which way to go. Sesai, Sani thought, gratefully. She must be helping me get to Zeno. He feared it was too little too late though, for he could practically feel the hashin's breath upon his neck….

Suddenly another door slammed shut right behind him and Sani heard a loud curse. Sani could not help but laugh, a laugh that turned into a startled yelp when a pair of hands grabbed him as he entered an open area. By reflex he started struggling.

"Easy, Sani, you are safe now," Zeno's calm voice said.

"Zeno!" Sani cried gratefully, wrapping his arms around the ambassador in a grateful hug. "The-there's a…."

"Hashin? I know. I will take care of him." Sani noticed the hard edge to Zeno's tone. "Sesai, let him go."

A door opened back in the corridor Sani had just came from and the hashin appeared from behind in, running at full tilt with a rather annoyed expression on his face. Sani slipped behind Zeno as Zeno stepped forward, blacking the man's path. The hashin skidded to a stop, looking none too pleased at the further interference.

"Step aside," the man growled. "I am on official business."

"This Sangheili is under my protection," Zeno hissed.

The hashin snorted, not impressed. "I have had kaidon's give me the same line and I still get my Mark. What makes you any different?"

"Joran!" a new voice said. "Joran please stand down!"

Sani turned to see another male behind them. The newcomer was a slightly taller Sangheili that was sans his right arm. Who was this guy? Did he work with the hashin?

Joran snorted and folded his arms. "Henun, I told you before. I do not give up a chase once it is started. A chase I will resume once mister funky armor gets out of my way."

"That is the Ambassador of Sanghelios," Henun said. "And is in the same unit I was from."

"I care not for his rank, Henun." Joran huffed. "But if he is a friend of yours maybe you can get him to listen to reason."

"Joran…if you persist in this job, you will forfeit your own life," Henun said flatly. "Zeno does not protect people without a good reason and he is not afraid to main or even kill someone to do so!"

Sani was a bit surprised by that bit of information. He looked up at Zeno and noticed a dark fire in his eyes. A fire that was itching to be released in a torrent: it was a little frightening that the kind, gentle Zeno he knew could be so violent.

"So he is willing to stick his snout in business that is not his to begin with," Joran said with a disgusted huff.

"I made it my business when I learned why Sani did what he did," Zeno growled. "I am surprised you did not bother to do the same."

"I do not care about the motive for a Mark's crimes," Joran sneered.

"Trying to escape from a bad situation is a crime!" Sani exclaimed.

"Cowardice is considered to be so in our society, if you do not remember, kid," Joran said. "

"Same with the desertion of your post."

"I accept that I left without permission, but if you knew half of what I have been though…."

"I told you, I do not care why you committed your crimes, I only care that you receive the punishment you are due."

"Sani has suffered enough," Zeno growled, taking a step forward.

"Joran, please, just back off…We can talk about it later…," Henun said.

"Negotiate? You are kidding right?" Joran laughed briefly, then turned serious once more. "Hashin do not 'negotiate'."

"Then you leave me with no choice," Zeno growled.

Before Joran could react, Zeno rushed toward him and punched him in the face. The hashin staggered back a bit, stunned, and then Zeno grabbed him by the neck and slammed his face into the wall. Joran slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Joran!" Henun cried, running to him.

"Do not worry, he is just going to have a nasty headache when he wakes up," Zeno said calmly. "Henun, when your friend comes to, met us at the BBQ Bills Steakhouse. Sesai will give you the directions."

"You are inviting them to join us at dinner?" Sani asked as they started to walk away.

"I seriously doubt Joran will attempt to pull anything while in a nice establishment. Most bounty hunters like to minimize innocent causalities whenever possible, I suspect Joran is no different."

"Makes sense…I guess…."


They stopped by their quarters just long enough for Zeno to change and then headed straight for the steakhouse. There, Zeno requested the VIP room and instructed the greeter to direct Joran and Henun to them. Originally, Zeno had wanted to sit with the rest of the populous, but he did not what to disturb the other patrons with what they were going to be discussing.

Shortly after they got their drinks, the hashin pair arrived. Henun was taking in the western style décor with interest, while Joran just looked very annoyed. "This is humiliating…." Zeno heard Joran grumble as they sat at the table. "Dining with a Mark…."

"If you had listened to me before, this likely would not have happened," Henun chided.

"Oh sure, listen to a rookie…."

"Sometimes those rookies may have insight that is greatly beneficial to your health," Zeno pointed out. "You are lucky Henun begged me to go easy on you, otherwise you would have a lot worse than a headache right now." Joran growled but otherwise did not comment, so Zeno continued. "Now, how did this all come about? Who gave you this job?"

"I can answer that," Sani said softly. "Joran mentioned Second Master Ruro."

"Ugh…that asshole. I should have guessed he may try something like this. We know Rtas would never have done this."

"Why? Is he a big softy?" Joran sneered. The looks he got from both Zeno and Henun were so fierce that he actually looked unnerved.

"Rtas 'Vadum is…was in my case…our commander in Special Operations," Henun said, still glaring at Joran. "We know him very well, and soft he is not."

"Unless you consider actually caring about the wellbeing of your troops as being 'soft'," Zeno added, to which Joran smartly did not comment on that. "Now," Zeno continued. "Henun, I must admit I am surprised: I would have thought you would have checked in on Sani's background before accepting it."

"I wanted to, but Joran would not let me," Henun said with a sigh. "He only wanted me to research on Sani's location."

"It is not our business to know the motive behind a Mark's crime," Joran said flatly.

"Now see, I have a problem with that," Zeno said. "How do you know you are not ending the life of someone that actually did a good thing? How do you know you are not accepting a job from the leader of a criminal element?"

"Please, the official billboard is maintained by the security forces," Joran replied. "No chance of a criminal putting in a bounty on someone's head. As for the other thing, again, it is not my business to know, so long as it pays."

"So as long as you get money, damn the consequences…."

Joran just shrugged, uncaring.

"I have been working on changing his stance on that, but I am so far unsuccessful in getting through to him," Henun said sadly.

Zeno thought a moment before speaking again. "Alright then, scenario time. A field master is dead, back when we were still part of the Covenant, killed by a fellow Sangheili: do you take the job to avenge his death?'

"Of course," Joran replied.

"Do you check into motive for the murder?"

"Pfft, why should I?

"Alright, so you find the guilty party and kill him. However there are consequences to this act. Several human bases take longer to find, resulting in a number of planets taking longer to cleanse. During the Schism, the take over of a cruiser does not go as smoothly, maybe even fails, resulting in the likely death of Rtas 'Vadum. Without his leadership in the Separatist Fleet, ship to ship engagements do not go as well, the new human allies having to face more of Truth's troops on the Arc. The rings may have been successfully activated, killing all sentient life. If not though, there are other side effects." Zeno took a sip of his drink before continuing.

"With Rtas dead, the Arbiter may not have made it to the infirmary in time when he was struck by the assassin's bullet. With the Arbiter dead, the war between humanity and Sangheili likely would have reignited, resulting in the possible destruction of both species."

Both Henun and Sani's eyes were wide, while Joran looked a bit disturbed. "I do not see how letting one murderer live could have prevented all that," Joran said, shaking his head.

"Everything happens for a reason," Zeno said. "Fates and destinies are intertwined. Remove one piece of the puzzle too soon and the consequences can be dire. Of course, unless you are a seer you usually do not see the possible consequences ahead of time, only after, when you can reflect upon the past. I know the likely consequences of this scenario due to my own experience."

"Wait…," Henun said, shocked as it obviously clicked in his mind. "You mean to say…"

"Yes, Henun. I speak of myself as the murderer and the Field Master was Yuteri 'Wamotee."

"Wha-why?" Sani asked, looking very shocked at hearing Zeno really did go as far as the kill another Sangheili before.

"I wonder that myself," Joran said, glaring at Zeno. "Why are you even in your post? You should be dead for your crime."

"Easy, I was pardoned by the Arbiter himself," Zeno explained. "As for why: I killed him to protect the lives of my fellow Sangheili and to avenge the lives of one's already lost."

"I do not…," Joran started to say, but Zeno held up a hand to silence him.

"Yuteri was a murderer himself," Zeno continued. "He killed Sangheili that did not fit his view of perfection. Semos, genetic defects, even minor war injuries were enough to put someone in his crosshairs. He had the highest squad mortality rate in the fleet and no one bothered to check as to why, besides me."

"But what drove you to check?" Henun asked.

"Because he attempted to kill me as well, for I was in his unit initially after joining the military."

"Yuteri…he was the one that left you behind on the planet…," Sani said, remembering the story Zeno told him.

"Correct, Sani."

The table was silent for a few moments before Joran spoke again. "I do not see how this applies to Sani," he said. "His crime is simply desertion, nothing that requires me to kill him."

"That whole scenario thing was simply to drive home how important it is to know the motive behind someone's actions," Zeno said. "Let us say you were in a bad relationship. A relationship you never wanted to be in. The other half of said relationship is controlling and abusive, whittling down your will and esteem with half-truths and threats to your life. Would you not want to get as far away from this person as possible? Even if it meant breaking a law?"

Joran looked uncomfortable and conflicted. "You speak of yourself again…?"

"No, I speak of Sani."