Authors Note: OK, something is really up with the editor here on today: keeps wanting to bold lines that aren't supposed to be bold...And when I try to fix that it bolds the whole thing! Then when I tried to fix that, it deleted most of the document! Ugh...so if there is an odd bolded line half way down, that is why. I'd get rid of it if I could...

Thanks to my beta for proofing this.

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


Chapter 9: Briefings

The briefing room was not as cramped feeling as the corridors they used to get to it, but Zeno still felt the ceiling was too close to his head for comfort. He wondered if the Arbiter, the only Sangheili among them that rivaled his height, felt the same, but he realized that whatever discomfort the Arbiter felt himself would be only temporary. The Arbiter would be going down to the surface of the human homeworld, while he would be stuck on this station.

The ONI commander and Miranda spoke at length, the Arbiter adding in when needed, mostly about the temporary alliance. They briefly had another human on a view screen join the discussion, someone they referred to as 'Lord Hood'. From what Zeno was able to gather, Lord Hood was the current leader of the remaining human military forces and while he seemed distrusting of the Arbiter and the other Sangheili, he sounded relieved that they were on his side. After Lord Hood signed off, the ONI commander, Miranda and the Arbiter spoke a bit longer, before concluding that part of the meeting. Then it was on to Zeno himself….

"This is Special Operations Zeno 'Ribal," the Arbiter said, introducing him. "He was chosen to remain here and assist in your operations. He specializes in reconnaissance."

"/So this is one of your guys that kept finding our hidden bases,\" the ONI commander said. "/Glad to have you on our side for once, we could use your knowledge and skills. How is your English?\

"/Improving by the day,\" Zeno replied in their tongue. "/Your subordinate has been assisting me with this task.\"

"/Lieutenant McGuire informed me you were picking it up quickly and I see he was not exaggerating. He has told you of how your accommodations are being handled?\"

Zeno couldn't keep the faint growl of disgust from his tone. "/He has.\"

"/We will have a more appropriate accommodation set up for you as soon as we can. In the mean time, Lieutenant McGuire will show you around the station. Also, you are to have a human escort with you whenever you are not in your quarters.\"

He snarled at that. "/Why?\" he demanded. "/I am not your prisoner!\"

"/For your own protection, to be honest,\" the human replied. "/There are those on this station that are not happy at all with this new arrangement and may attempt to harm you.\"

"/And if they tried, they would be the ones hurting...\"

"Zeno," the Arbiter warned.

"/…Within reason,\" Zeno quickly added. "/I am under explicit orders not to harm any of you without a good reason.\"

"/And my men will be under orders for the same, Zeno. Though it is a shame it must be given,\" The commander said.

"/My people's crimes may be great,\" Zeno growled lowly. "/But your kind are not so innocent yourselves….\"

The commander's eyes widened slightly, but quickly returned to a normal state. "/With war, neither side is totally innocent. Miranda, we will keep you updated on what the Covenant are doing in New Mombasa when we can. Good luck in the Crows Nest. Lieutenant McGuire, help our new troop get situated with the station. I am sure we will have a mission for him soon.\"

After they were dismissed, Luke showed him around. Almost everything Luke showed him Zeno had one opinion of: cramped. Hallways. Cramped. Armory. Cramped, but a bit more understandable considering all the weaponry within. He was also mildly surprised he wasn't asked to hand over his swords, but then again, the armory guy looked like he was too intimidated by his presence to even ask. Training room was large, but it was also cramped due to all the 'equipment' stuffed into it. Were humans so weak they have to rely on machines to strengthen their bodies? They did have a decent sized sparring room, which Luke referred to as a 'dojo'. It was still too small though for his needs and all those mirrors would only distract him.

They briefly stopped in the mess hall to eat, which was a decent size, but the seating looked inadequate for someone his size. Zeno didn't want to eat human food, but knew that was all that would be available to him from this point on. Figuring out what was edible to him though….

"/What is considered your meat, human?\" he asked the server, whom looked a bit intimidated by his presence.

"/Chicken, beef, pork, fish…,\" the server said. "/However it is a requirement that everyone have at least two servings of fruits and vegetables with each meal.\"

Zeno growled and leaned close to the man, showing his fangs. "/Does it look like I eat plant matter?\"

The man got the point and happily gave him generous helpings of each of the meat products. He then followed Luke to a table off in a corner, where he noticed the benches they had for seating definately didn't look like they would hold his weight. His suspicion proved correct when he put his tray down and sat down, only for the bench to crack and snap, sending him to the floor. A couple of the other humans started to laugh, but a glare in their direction shut them up immediately.

"/We had that happen with Spartans too…,"\ Luke commented as Zeno picked himself off the floor. "/At least if they were in their suits. After a couple of times we started requiring them to remove their armor before eating.\"

"/You would think they would just design stronger furniture.\" Zeno grumbled as he settled into a meditation kneel: not very comfortable with his armor on, but he would be too low if he just sat on the floor.

"/I'm sure such furniture is already available, but with the war…All our funding goes to weapons, defenses and training. No point in having a fancy, expensive seat if you are not alive to sit in it.\"

It was a valid point, so Zeno simply nodded and focused on eating. Or at least, figuring out how to eat this food he was given. Sangheili were not barbarians and did actually use tools to eat, but the human's versions of such tools were pitifully small in his hands. He somehow managed with most of what was on his plate, cutting them into slightly smaller pieces before stuffing them into his mouth swallowing. The item that was called 'chicken' though was a problem: the meat was still on the bones of whatever a 'chicken' was and it was taking too much effort to try to remove the meat from it.

He clicked his lower mandibles in a shrug and then just swallowed a chicken portion whole, bones and all. Luke was rather shocked. "/You just…Won't that….\" he stammered.

"/Sangheili stomach acids are strong,\" Zeno said after swallowing a second. "/We can digest bone, if needed.\"

"/Right…\"

As Luke turned back to his own meal as Zeno turned to his next problem: drinking. The drinkware humans had were not designed for someone with mandibles and it took a moment for Zeno to figure out a compromise on how to use them. He eventually opted to slip the top of the glass through the gap between his lower mandibles, next to his throat opening and tipping both the glass and his head back.

"/Those mandibles of yours certainly cause problems when it comes to drinking don't they?\" Luke commented.

"/Only when it comes to your drinking ware,\" Zeno grumbled. "/Fortunately, we do not need to drink every often.\"

"/Why is that?\"

"/Our homeworld is hot and arid in many places due to our system having three suns,\" Zeno explained. /"So our bodies have evolved to retain water whenever possible."\

"/So you guys don't need to take a piss as often?\"

"/What?\" Zeno raised an eye ridge.

"/Um, expel liquid waste product.\"

"/Such a lovely topic of discussion at meal time,\" Zeno grumbled. "/Not to mention your curiosity about my kind's bodily functions is somewhat disturbing.\"

"/I get your point. Shutting up.\"

They finished up their respective meals a short time later, Luke resuming the tour afterward. Most of the remaining areas Luke said he couldn't actually take him to for security reasons. Really the only other place Luke could show him was the medical ward, with which just one glance told Zeno that Luke wasn't kidding when he told him that human's do everything they could to save their own. The very thought of being under a human doctor's care made him feel sick: his experience at Truy made sure of that.

By the time Luke showed him the barrack wing and what would be his temporary quarters, Zeno was starting to feel weariness from the day's events. When Luke opened the door to their shared quarters, however, Zeno immediately doubted he would be getting any kind of rest. The room was not just cramped, but suffocatingly so. Zeno estimated that the room wasn't much bigger then he was tall in both depth and width, with a bit more on the width side of things. There was a human sized bed on either side of the room, along with two human styled dressers. Straight ahead in the middle was a door, which Zeno assumed was the bathroom.

"/You have got to be kidding me."\ Zeno grumbled after scoping out the room. "/A single room on our ships is easily twice this size!\"

"/Yeah, I know,\" Luke said. "/But we are not as big as you guys are, so we do not require as much space.\"

"/And you expect me to fit on that bed?\" Zeno growled, pointing to the bed that didn't have its sheets put on.

"/Unfortunately, king size, even queen size, beds are not high on the requisition list. Surely, considering your career, you've had to deal with worse?\"

"/Yes…When I was out in the field,\" Zeno snapped. "/I do not expect to sleep in an inadequate sized bed when I am back on the ship."\

"/Point taken, but look. This is the best we got for the time being. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to make do for now.\"

Zeno growled and then breathed a heavy sigh. The human was correct: for now he would just have to make do. Begrudgingly, he turned his back on the human and started removing his armor. The room lacked an armor rack, so Zeno just stacked the pieces neatly against the wall. He was not going to remove his bodysuit however, as he knew he would not be comfortable having another human see him completely nude. Zeno shuddered slightly at the memory.

"/You're not going to remove the skinsuit?\" Luke asked.

"/I have as much desire to allow you to see me naked as I am eager to see you as the same,\" Zeno sneered. "/And I am certain you feel the same.\"

"/Good point.\"

The next step was to get into the bed without it snapping it in two. He didn't bother putting the sheets on, as he strongly suspected he would be ripping them back off again anyway. His suspicion proved correct when he started to climb into the bed. Though he had done his best to spread out his weight, the bed frame bowed dangerously underneath him. Then suddenly the frame snapped, sending him crashing to the floor with a loud 'oof'.

He heard Luke trying his best to not laugh, but was failing miserably. Zeno, now too frustrated and tired to be angry, got up, pulled out the broken frame and tossed it outside their room. He then laid down on the remaining mattress and laid the sheets over himself.

"/Fire Marshall is going to get on your ass for blocking the hallway,\" Luke said between giggles.

"/I do not care.\" Zeno grumbled, closing his eyes. With his back to the still giggling human, he proceeded to attempt to fall asleep. Mental and physical exhaustion was the only reason he succeeded.


Zeno nearly ripped Luke's arm off when the human woke him up the next morning by shaking him. "/Do not touch me, human!\" He snapped, glaring up at the human.

"/Sorry, but calling your name wasn't cutting it.\" Luke said calmly, though Zeno could see the slight hint of fear in his eyes.

"/And why risk your life to wake me so?\"

"/You'll be going on mission today and you need to report to the briefing room in an hour.\"

"/Already?\" Zeno raised an eye ridge as he stood up and stretched. "/What is the mission?\"

"/I don't know, wasn't told that. You'll find out at the briefing. If you hurry, you should be able to grab a bit to eat before the briefing.\"

Zeno was already snapping his armor pieces on as he said that. "/What do you humans usually have for breakfast?\" He asked.

"/Eggs, pancakes, various cereals, toast, various fruits…Um, waffles, French toast….\"

"/None of that sounds like something I would eat.\"

"/That's right, carnivore and all. Um…They have some kind of meat. Pork products usually: bacon, sausage and ham. Sometimes they'll have steak and chicken, usually coated with a type of breading though.\"

By now, Zeno had finished attaching his armor and was starting to head for the door, forcing Luke to rush with his own clothing. "/Wait! Aren't you going to wash up first or something?\" Luke asked as he jogged to catch up to him in the hallway.

"/I am not going to waste time trying to figure out how your shower works when food and the briefing are more important at this moment,\" Zeno grumbled. "/I will wash when I return from the mission, provided I do not get too frustrated or I am not too exhausted to care.\"

"/Can't argue with that….\"

The mess hall wasn't too busy; the majority of the soldiers likely having already eaten. This time the Zeno did not need to argue with the servers over portion size, or what he should be eating: it was obvious the one he spoke with yesterday briefed the others about him. After getting his fair share of breakfast ham and sausage, he followed Luke to the same table they sat at before. The seat Zeno broke was replaced, but Zeno didn't even bother sitting on it, instead kicking it out of the way before kneeling on the floor.

They ate in relative silence: Luke not pestering him with questions for once. Afterward Zeno headed straight for the briefing room, Luke following behind him. The human, however, just leaned against the wall, making no move to go inside. When he gave him a questioning look, Luke shrugged and said: "/I don't do the field work stuff: I process the reports from those that do.\"

Zeno snorted softly and continued in; annoyed that he would be working with strangers on his first mission. So far, Luke was the only one human he had any bit of trust in and that wasn't saying much. Focusing on the room itself, he found he was the first in the room, besides the base commander. "/Special Operations Zeno 'Ribal, reporting as ordered.\" He announced, feeling slightly sick at reporting in to a human.

"/You are early,\" The commander said, turning to face him. "/Just as well, there were a couple of things I wanted to ask you.\"

"/What would those be?\"

"/First, do you have any experience in using human weapons?\"

"/No. Like most of my kind, I refused to even touch your weapons if I could help it.\"

"/That will have to change, as we have no means of recharging your plasma weaponry and it is not always feasible, or safe, to salvage for it out in the field.\"

"/I prefer melee weapons anyway,\" Zeno admitted.

"/I do see that you have two hilts on your sides. Energy swords I presume?\"

"/Kisens. A variant.\"

"/I don't believe we have ever witnessed an Elite using something other than the standard.\"

"/Humans that have seen them, did not survive the encounter to report about it.\" Zeno couldn't help the smug grin on his face, though if the human recognized it as such, there was no way of knowing. The other reason was that kisans were largely specific to his keep and most Ribals just used the standard in the military from what he knew. He wasn't going to be telling the human that, however.

"/Fair enough. The other thing I wanted to ask if you had active camo.\"

"/Standard with Special Operations issued armor.\"

"/Good, can you activate it?\"

"/Whatever for?\"

"/The two agents you'll be going with do not know they'll be working with you yet.\"

"/A surprise then.\"

"/More like I want to ensure they won't back out of this mission because of you.\"

Zeno didn't like the sound of that. "/Would that not increase the possibility of one of them shooting me in the back during the mission itself?\"

"/I already checked their profiles. Both expressed gratitude that you are on our side now, but that doesn't mean they will be willing to work directly with you.\"

Zeno made a faint rumbling noise in his throat. "/Fair enough.\" He said as he activated his camo, fading away from view. "/How long do you wish me to remain like this when they arrive?\"

"/You'll know when you hear it.\"

He snorted softly as he moved off to the side and waited. Before long, two humans entered the room. One was pale skinned, with blue eyes and brown hair; the other was slightly darker in skin down with black hair and hazel eyes. Both were wearing dark grey uniforms, similar to the ones the security teams he saw yesterday wore, but had more obvious armor plating.

"/Captain Charles and Lieutenant Jose reporting as ordered, sir.\" The pale one said, both of them snapping to attention and saluting.

"/At ease.\" The commander said. Once the pair had done so, he continued. "/As you both know, the Covenant have found something massive under the ruins of New Mombasa and are in the process of excavating it. We are currently looking into all possible leads as to what that thing is and what the Covenant plan on using it for: all we know is that it is obviously Forerunner in origin.\"

Forerunner…, Zeno thought, remembering what the Oracle said about the humans being the reclaimers. So even here they left their gifts. He still did not understand why the humans were chosen and he doubted the humans knew either.

"/Recently, a group of Brutes was seen searching through the remains of the resort city of Malindi, Kenya, north of New Mombasa. What they are searching for is your mission: with luck it may give us more insight on what is going on at the excavation site. You will be dropped off with a Warthog two miles west of the town. Remaining undetected is paramount for this mission, so abandon the hog when you get close to the town itself. If you are discovered before their objective becomes known, kill what Covenant you can as you retreat, but do not take any unnecessary risks. Understood?\"

"/Yes sir!\" Both humans said.

"/Any questions?\"

"/Yes sir,\" the pale one, Charles, said. "/It was my understanding that there were three of us assigned to this mission.\"

"/You are correct, captain.\" The commander then looked in Zeno's direction. On cue, Zeno deactivated his camo, stepping forward as he did so. The eyes on both humans went wide. "/This is Special Operations Zeno 'Ribal, he will be joining you for this mission.\"

"/I knew we were allied with the Elites now, but I wasn't expecting to work with one so soon…\" the darker skinned, Jose, mumbled. "/Not sure I like that.\"

"/I assure you the feeling is quite mutual.\" Zeno said, folding his arms.

"/You will be departing within the hour. It will be night when you first arrive, so I would suggest equipping yourselves with VISR capable helmets. You are dismissed. Good luck.\"