Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Halo universe, which is the property of Bungie Studios. Note: To people who don't like the story, PLEASE DO NOT READ THE FAN FIC, JUST LEAVE. NOTE: As if its not that obvious I'm still gonna say it, This story is not following the
However, original characters belong to me.
the original canon of the Halo series.
Chapter 14 Recruitment
N'kev and Xue walked down the street and eventually ended up on Middle Park. Xue had dragged N'kev here since he wanted to talk to him in private. Middle Park had trees that were tall, a large fountain in one of the squares. Not to mention that a river runs through the park itself. They could see a lot of people picnicking at the side and enjoying the sun.
It was the perfect place to lounge around when you've got nothing to do. You could actually lie down on the grass and enjoy the scenery. The trees actually make a perfect cover from the direct sunlight and it gives a nice cold breeze.
N'kev didn't quite understand why Xue dragged him there but he was sure of one thing. She was going to ask him about why he freaked out last night. He was still thinking of good excuse why but noting comes to mind. His mind was completely blank. Xue dragged him to a spot near the trees. She sat on the ground, her feet extended outward.
"Sit down." she ordered N'kev to sit; he complied. They were silent for a few seconds until N'kev broke the ice.
"I'm sorry." said N'kev.
"Sorry about what?" she asked.
"About last night; I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have freaked out like that in front of you." said N'kev.
"You shouldn't be sorry about that. But can I ask why you freaked out?" asked Xue.
"It's because…" said N'kev trailing. N'kev just sighed and let his body fall to the ground. He lied down on the ground looking up at the sky as he contemplated on how to tell her.
"Because…?" asked Xue. She knew she was finally getting to him and it was only a matter of time.
"It's because I can't make myself to lie anymore." said N'kev weakly.
"So you really were lying to us." concluded Xue.
"Yes. There I admit it." said N'kev, closing his eyes and breathing deeply.
Xue couldn't help but stare at his expression. He was so calm and serene looking. It was the favorite expression Xue always wanted to see in N'kev. It made him look more handsome to her. She allowed herself to lie down as well on the ground.
"Why are you lying to us N'kev, were your friends." said Xue.
"I know…" said N'kev.
"Then why lie?" she asked.
"It's because I promised myself I'll keep that secret hidden as long as he tells me too. And you know that I don't break promises." said N'kev. Then an idea crossed Xue's mind.
"Well then, can you promise me." said Xue sitting up right. N'kev sat up as well looking at her.
"Promise me, you'll tell us the moment he says you no longer need to keep the secret. In return I'll drop the subject completely. Deal?" asked Xue. N'kev thought for a moment then responded,
"Deal." then he lied down again.
"Can I ask why you sent Olut away?" asked N'kev. Xue was completely surprised at this question since she wasn't prepared to answer this kind of question. She lied down again on the ground then said,
"It's because… I wanted to hang out… with you." N'kev noticed that emphasis on you and gulped. There was an awkward silence between the two since they didn't know what to say,
"So… Do you miss your life back on Earth?" asked Xue. N'kev was surprised by the question but nevertheless responded,
"Well sometimes, yes." answered N'kev. He felt Xue's hand slowly placed itself near his. This made him somewhat uncomfortable since the very action was giving him an erection. He did the only thing that can help him conceal it; he retracted his left leg to hide it behind it.
"What do you guys do on earth when you were still a kid?" asked Xue. She mentally smirked to herself as she noticed N'kev's body reaction to her hand. She even smiled as she saw N'kev trying to hide it.
"Well…" began N'kev. His voice was becoming weak again due to him concentrating to make it go away.
"Since my father and mother landed themselves a job as journalists for the local paper, we mostly go to the tourist spots." said N'kev his voice straining at the very end.
"Like what?" asked Xue. She had to smile to herself at N'kev's feeble attempt to try and make it go away.
"Well we went to this place they call, a Vineyard." then he began telling her all about the things they did back at Bonn Ridge Vineyard. How they saw the grapes out in the fields to the point where they did the grape picking and ate it. He also told her about how they package the wines; from liquids into the bottles.
He also ended up telling her as well about Zen being drunk after drinking The Big One. She laughed at that point.
"Really, your father actually told your Uncle that he was hot?" asked Xue.
"Yep, my uncle told me himself." answered N'kev.
"So… Where did you guys live before moving here?" asked N'kev.
"Wait I haven't told you my story yet?" asked Xue as a counter question.
"No, you haven't. You only told me that you used to live at a state; you didn't even mention the name, and you guys moved here." said N'kev.
"Oh…In that case well… We used to live back at the 'Vadum state. Us Sangheilis, as you know, some of them separate their children from parents and put them in common rooms. Well I was lucky enough to not be one of those children. I managed to live a normal life as a child. Well aside from the training-to-become-a-soldier, I managed to live normally. I had childhood friends and even made a best friend. Well had a best friend." she said gloomily at the last sentence. At this point N'kev body was back to normal.
"Had a best friend? What happen to her?" asked N'kev.
"Him actually; he died." said Xue.
"Oh… I'm sorry." said N'kev feeling sorry for actually asking the question.
"Its ok." said Xue.
"How'd…he die?" asked N'kev.
"No one knows, it was just on that fateful day that his father announced him dead. The authorities actually tried to search for him but eventually they couldn't find a body so they settled with him being dead." answered Xue.
"That's…horrible." said N'kev.
"Yes it is. But something tells me he wasn't dead. A gut feeling is telling he wasn't." said Xue hopefully turning her head to face him.
"Well let's just hope your feeling is right." said N'kev turning his head to face her.
That was when N'kev just realized how close they were lying to each other. They were awfully close, their mandibles just touching, inches, as well as their legs and feet. They stared at each other and life seems to pass them by. Everything seemed to dissolve around them as they stared deeply at one another…
…Until someone loudly cleared his throat.
The two of them looked at the person. It was Azu who was smirking at them. Behind him was Olut...they seemed to be averting their gaze from them, and that only made Xue and N'kev confused. She looked at him, and he looked back...then she noticed that N'kev's erection was back...and she noticed her own genital opening up widely, wanting him inside her. The two of them turned violet, and shuffled awkwardly to their feet.
"Ok, now that the awkwardness is over. C'mon you two were being called back to HQ." said Azu turning around. Olut just smirked at them
"Busted." he said playfully before following Azu chuckling.
The 2 stared at each other, turn purpled and followed them.
"Smooth moves, mate." whispered Olut to N'kev as they made their way back to HQ. N'kev just stayed silent. Xue was up ahead walking along with Azu.
"Took you long enough to make your move." whispered Olut. This made N'kev look at him surprised. He was about to deny himself making a move on Xue when Olut cut him off,
"Don't deny it. And in my opinion you two look good together." said Olut. N'kev smiled.
"You think so?" he asked.
"Yes, and I support you all the way." said Olut.
"So…It's ok with you if I take Xue?" asked N'kev. He wasn't really the type of person who wants to be in a competition. He just gives them up.
"Obviously yes; and for your information, I only thought of Xue as a friend and will stay as a friend." said Olut. N'kev nodded.
"But how should I tell her?" asked N'kev.
"Its simple just tell her the 3 magic words; and hope for the best." answered Olut.
"I can't do that. Besides whenever I try to tell her things like that my throat goes dry." said N'kev.
"That may be a problem." said Olut.
The 2 were silent as they made there way back to HQ. They followed Azu back to the meeting room where Thel and Rtas were there along with Karif.
"We've got bad news." said Karif as they entered.
"Take your seats." said Rtas and all of them complied.
"The recent recon mission that The Arbiter had accomplished has given us some very important information. It has been confirmed that the Loyalist are here in Sangheilios and we know were they are going next. They plan to go to the 'Vadum state and that's where they'll hold their Last Stand. Our main problem is that they seemed to have developed a weapon that can easily kill all of us. Second problem is that we are greatly outnumbered since they number in hundreds. The current number of soldiers currently in the building right now is 12." said Rtas.
"What?" N'kev asked surprised by the number.
"You heard me correctly. There are only 12 soldiers in this building that can fight them at this current time." answered Rtas.
"Why? I thought we had an army." said Olut.
"Yes, we do have an army but they aren't here they are out in outer space, doing search and destroy missions about the other Halo rings and attending peace meetings." said Rtas.
"How in the forerunners are we going to stop them if there are only 12 of us?" asked Azu.
"We are currently working on that Azu. Karif I need you to go to your squad and tell them to prepare. We're leaving before nightfall headed to the 'Vadum state." said Rtas. Karif followed the orders and headed out.
"Do we even know where they will be in the 'Vadum state?" asked Xue.
"Unfortunately, no; they were careful enough not to speak of the specific location." said Thel.
"We are actually contacting the authorities there to scout ahead for any suspicious looking vehicles." added Thel.
"Xue isn't your home state the 'Vadum state?" asked N'kev.
"Yes. I hope we can resolve this issue with minimal destruction of the state." said Xue hopefully.
N'kev sighed, this was becoming drastic. The Loyalists were planning on making a Last Stand at the 'Vadum state and Last Stands usually mean they are going out with a bang. They were clearly outnumbered; 12 against hundreds. Let alone 9 of those soldiers are still rookies when it comes to battle; counting himself and his friends.
Only 3 have actual battlefield experience. It was Rtas, Thel and Azu. The 12 of them are doing a Forlorn Hope. N'kev cringed at the idea. He didn't want to die. He was still too young to die, literally.
"If only we had war veterans helping us…" said Olut to himself. Then Thel and N'kev felt like they were slapped at the faces. The idea was right in front of them and they didn't see it. They knew the perfect war veterans that can help them win the fight.
The 2 of them looked up at the same time which made Olut and Xue stare at them.
"What is it?" asked Olut to N'kev. He just ignored him because Thel spoke.
"I know where we can recruit war veterans…" said Thel. Rtas seemed intrigued then he understood what Thel was implying since he had met them already.
"Are you talking about them?" he asked. Thel nodded.
"Does this mean its out?" asked N'kev. Thel looked at him then to Olut and Xue who was looking back at Thel then to N'kev.
"Unfortunately, yes. The situation requires it to be out in order for us to understand each other." said Thel. N'kev nodded. Olut, Azu and Xue just looked more confused by the sudden conversation.
"What do you mean 'it's out'?" asked Olut to N'kev confused. He didn't answer his question but instead he just smirked at him. Sensing their bewilderment, Rtas asked,
"Do they know?" he asked to Thel referring to Azu, Olut and Xue. The 3 looked at Rtas as they noticed they were being asked.
Thel just smirked at Azu, Olut and Xue and answered Rtas, "No, can I borrow a phone; I need to make a phone call."
* * * * *
Zen was at the house lounging, today was their rest day. Viper, Jess and Stahn were at the computer editing the photos. Nira was cuddled up to Zen as they watched the television. Z'jo and Zide were playing chess. It would seem that Zide was trying to checkmate Z'jo.
"Aha, checkmate!" he exclaimed. Z'jo just clicked his mandibles.
"Nuh, uh." he replied as he moved his king away to safety.
"What?! Aw man…." said Zide as his plan failed.
Then the phone rang…
"I'll get it!" cried Zen as he stood up and approached the telephone. He picked it up.
"This is Zen Black speaking, who is this?" asked Zen.
And then they began to converse.
"Oh, what is it? ...What? ...Really? ...That bad eh? …need help? … Yup, all of us are here… We'll be heading there right away. Oh and were bringing 2 extra people that can help, is that ok? …Ok, we'll see you there, be sure to brief us." then he hanged up.
"Who was it?" asked Nira.
"It was Thel." said Zen as he strode back into the living room. Zide looked up,
"Wow, Father rarely calls home, it must be important." said Zide.
"What was it about?" asked Stahn as he diverted his attention from the computer screen to Zen.
"Before that, Viper is it all right if your paper gets delayed a little?" Zen asked.
"Its ok, why what's wrong?" asked Viper as he turned around and face Zen. Zen smirked,
"Because I need you 4 to get armored up (he referred to Z'jo, Zide, Stahn and Nira.) And you 2 (he referred to Jess and Viper) to pack up. We're heading to the Headquarters of Homeland of Security, because were back in business." said Zen.
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