Based on what might have happened if Gettemholt's request for a fight was honored. Because I wanted to expand the relationship between the protagonist and Zeno without it coming off as tacky, I decided to start a lot further back than I would have normally if the characters were as firmly established as they could have been.


Zeno would admit that he hadn't intended to originally do any real mentoring. The last couple of students he'd kept an eye on had done well without him, though he admitted they were fun to teach when they needed the hand. Echo of course, heard about it while he was mentioning it to Huey, and insisted on inviting herself along for the ARKS Final Exam on Naberius.

"Remind me again why you're here?" Zeno doesn't even try to hide his exasperation with her, watching his childhood friend scan the surrounding area. She gives him an annoyed glare over the flickering screens.

"Because last time, you complained about not being able to look up ARKS and you whined about losing time looking for them." Her point is well made, and he sighs, gives her a sheepish grin. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to put up with your whining." Zeno sheepishly rubs the back of his head, embarrassed.

Destiny… Zeno's head snaps up, and a look of bemusement crosses his face. Echo isn't paying attention, instead double-checking something with Brigitta. He taps his earpiece, and eventually, dismisses the odd statement. It must have just been someone switching channels and he overheard a bit of conversation.

"Hey, Zeno." Echo nudges him, and he snaps his focus back on his friend.

"Yeah, sorry. Something came over the comms, and I guess it was just someone switching channels." Echo raises a brow but shrugs and takes his word for it.

"I guess I talked over it while discussing the recruits with Brigitta. She said some students got separated from the main branch," She says lightly. "Something about a misplaced Telepipe for an advanced final, but someone messed up the campship assignment." Zeno snorts.

"Bureaucracy messes shit up every time." He agreed with a sigh. "The students doing okay?" Echo hums, tapping at the screen intently. He doesn't say a word, waiting for her to answer him.

"Actually, they might be right up your alley." She smiles at the screen. "Exceptional scores across the board for them both – they declined taking the advanced exams for personal reasons. The boy, Afin, he wants to work cold cases, and the girl Kazue wants to help test out new Classes." Zeno follows her as she starts walking, tapping away at the screen. "The advanced exam is for special field operations only, so they declined it. They took the advanced paper exam and they're still grading, but there's high hopes out there for them both." Zeno tilts his head, smiling slightly as he evaluates the idea.

"I'll think about it after we help them out – wouldn't want them to get in any actual danger after all," He chuckles. "Let's go and keep an eye on them in case they really feel out of their depth, and then we'll see where that goes." Echo simply nods, and her Mag zooms in front of them.

"Somehow I'm not surprised that's what you wanted to do." She smiles at him ruefully. "I programmed Monny here to lead us, so I don't have my nose stuck to the screen all the time." Zeno grins and nudges her, the girl pouting at the grin on his face. "I know you have a stupid joke stocked up somewhere in there, so can it buster," Echo grumbles, only getting a laugh for her troubles.

They're only halfway there when the alarm sounds, and Zeno gives a hiss, yanking his hand away from his comms. That noise would never stop being annoying. Echo groans as she rubs an ear, before her head tilts up, ears twitching up and down in concern.

Emergency Notice for all ARKS! Code D has been put into effect on Naberius! Photon levels are critical!

Zeno didn't bother to listen to the rest, instead giving Echo a quick glance. She shares it, before her hand reaches up to pat her lovingly named Monny on the head.

"Sorry buddy. I guess we'll have to save the leisure time for a later day. Lead us to those students asap okay? They're isolated and are going to need our – well, Zeno's – help." Zeno rolls his eyes at her words but admits she's probably not ready for fighting all out as a Force quite yet. She'd been in support for so long, he was a little worried about her fighting in combat. They're moving fast, so Zeno gives up his sword as a lost cause, switching to his gunslash to save some time and shed weight. He had a feeling he was going to need it on the way.

Arks Members Zeno and Echo – can you hear me? He taps his earpiece, sending back a quick acknowledgement. I noticed you're en route to our misled students. This is Hilda – I was overseeing their exam since they'd been assigned to the wrong area. Please hurry, they're closer to the epicenter than I would frankly prefer new ARKS to be.

"Got it," Zeno breathes out, barely acknowledging her in favor of getting through the mess faster. Black smoke plumes up from in front of them, and he feels warmth rush through him as Echo casts a strong Shifta to boost him. "Thanks," he grunts, slashing through them, following it up with a quick gunshot into the unfortunate trailing Dagan's core. It wails as it's legs twitch, the body slumping in death as it dissolves into malicious black particles.

Not that he sticks around to notice, powering through each horde as quickly as possible. Even being near the edge they were nigh-unmanageable, the young adult scowling. Dammit, he really wanted his sword, but he couldn't swap weapons on the fly like some other Hunters, and he didn't want to hit Echo.

Zeno – we have reports of a downed ARKS examinee – neither of the two under my direct supervision were injured, but the third you might be able to save. I've send you their coordinates as well as the original exam rendezvous point. Head there once you've collected them.He only briefly taps his earpiece twice to confirm he'd heard and send an affirmative, Echo catching up to him as Monny dithers on which path to take before judging the leftmost path to be correct and boosting his speed to guide Zeno there. He mutters a silent apology, forging on ahead of Echo who gives an indignant protest at his actions.

"Just meet me up at the exam rendezvous point!" He yells over his shoulder, pushing forward. There's far too many of them between him and the rookies, and he knows Echo will take the shorter path to meet them. He skids to a halt at the edge of the clearing so he can get a better idea of their state. Monny sails around his head once, before returning to his missus

… They look like shit, he decides, the girl shielding their fallen comrade and the blond boy firing into them wildly, catching them in their cores and downing them with decent skill. (Well, decent being relative given the shitty rifle he had been assigned)

The girl is healing, so he can't get a measure of how well they fight until she looks up and sees past her partner, a flickering moment of alarm on her features before she speaks.

"Afin get down," Her words are an authoritative snap, the gunman diving to the floor as a truly impressive blast of flame incinerates the malicious black smoke before him, even as another one coalesces behind her. Afin is scrambling to his feet, gun in hand as he tries to aim quickly enough, but Zeno's seen enough, bringing his gunslash to bear and sniping their cores out before they can reform properly. The girl looks relieved, and he strides closer, setting his weapon away before offering the blond a hand.

Just by hauling him up Zeno can tell the boy's built more for being a sniper than a field agent. His fingers are calloused all the wrong ways for field ops, but there's strength in his limbs that can't be denied. He pats the boy on the arm and moves to help the human girl, who hadn't gotten up from checking out the other examinee. Deciding discretion was the better part of valor, he helps her heft the man up. She flashes him a grateful grin, and he ducks his head slightly in response to the unspoken thanks.

"Glad to see I got here in time – I guess at least I can use that to placate my partner for leaving her behind." He winces, because he's not looking forward to her yelling at him, justified or not. "Either of you injured?" He asks, drawing forth two Dimate to toss to them both.

"I'm fine," She says gratefully, nudging the woozy but waking examinee into opening his mouth and getting a capful of the drink into his mouth. Afin, who is visibly bruised, takes it with a thanks and swallows a mouthful of it, sighing in relief as the sight of the bruises visibly accelerate from darkening purple to mottled yellow-green. "Thanks for saving my partner and I."

"Not a problem," He reassures her gently, hefting the barely conscious examinee up. Monny has flown off to fetch Echo, and Lyra whirrs affectionately at him, nudges his shoulder. One of the protruding blades catches his shoulder, and he gives a mock wince. "Yeah, ouch, let's not do that again," He jokes affectionately with his Mag, who gives a disapproving little whirr in response. "I'll have you know I'm perfectly funny," He defends, and the girl ducks her head, a reluctant smile on her lips. Afin draws closer, and Zeno hefts his burden higher once he realizes the man's slipping from the girl's grip. "You can let go – I'll be able to carry him."

"So – is this over?" Afin sounds hopeful, and Zeno can't quite blame him as he shifts the man to accommodate the loss of the girl's support. He's already passing back out, so he's going to need the infirmary. And though he'd be badly injured, he'd live, and there were plenty of jobs for washouts. (Though, tanking on the final exam? Ouch.)

"That was the plan, but there's way more Darkers than I expected. So I'm afraid you guys are stuck with me until then. There's a set rendezvous point for your exam, right?" Both give a nod, and he smiles. "Great. We can keep moving forward until we get there, and we should be able to hold them off better there."

"Urk – we're really going to have to fight our way there?" Afin doesn't look pleased, and neither does the girl, who is taking a sip of the Dimate and checking her weapon for scratches. Zeno doesn't – quite – pull a face, but he dismisses the boy as a potential pupil immediately. The girl – Kazue, wasn't it? – simply nodded in assent, expression serious.

"You're ARKS, right?" At the hesitant nod, he continues mercilessly tearing through the boy's visible hopes. "Of course I expect you to fight. At least your partner looks ready…" And okay, he really couldn't help the spiteful jab – "Even if you aren't." The boy flinches, but the girl gives him a faint frown, to which he raises an eyebrow, daring her to challenge his assessment. She frowns a little deeper, but sighs silently and nods her head, conceding to his excellent point.

Afin at least, has conceded, and Kazue fiddles with her Rod until it glows, the girl casting something on the unconscious and hapless subject he was carrying. His load lightens, and he nods, grateful. Something about her looked terribly familiar, but now wasn't the time to say so, and he nods his head forward.

"Let's go," He instructs crisply. "We can talk more when Code D is over." Afin readies his gun, and Kazue – finally, the name was sticking – draws her weapon properly.

"Let me know if he starts feeling heavy again," She says after a moment. "I can spare a little energy to recast the Technique." She doesn't seem to be willing to say anything else, and that's it. Their orders are relayed, and the two follow him obediently.

"Man, why did this have to happen the first day…" The blond is whining under his breath, and Zeno gives a snort.

"Quit your whining rookie. I promise, I'll keep you guys safe." That only barely appeases him, but the girl seems reassured at least.

It's awkward for him to use a Gunslash after so much time wielding an actual sword, but he'll have to make some sacrifices for the poor sod he was carrying, and thankfully, despite his awful attitude, Afin was a much better shot than he was at professionalism, easily getting the leftovers and constantly checking behind to make sure there were no survivors lurking behind – not there were that many the way the Kazue girl was fighting around his shots. He'd seen Echo do the weird Force thing where they just… dissolved (Zeno gives a mental shudder because the way she had explained it was beyond unpleasant), but he'd never seen it weaponized. Every artful dodge gave him an opening to shoot another one of the bastards in their cores, and he couldn't help but appreciate that kind of function. Granted, she was also caving their skulls in when she ran out of power to fuel her fire-filled rampage against them, and he should probably be concerned that there was another Lisa in the ranks, but she seemed sane enough outside of it.

Afin's cry of dismay at the clearing of Darkers makes Zeno's expression twist into a faint scowl of annoyance, and he thanks his stars that he'd had another option than just him. The girl's expression is strained, but she at least seems ready to take the battle on headfirst, even if she didn't look happy at all about it. He was frankly annoyed by it himself, but he wasn't going to say so out loud.

"It's more interesting when there's challenges along the way," He shoots back, annoyed. "Shut up and get used to it." There's a little more bite in his tone than he'd intended, but he takes it as a godsend when the boy zips it. "Well, it's about the right place, but I suppose she's falling behind," He winces. Echo was going to give him a massive earful for this, and he wasn't looking forward to that later. Kazue is looking around with a frown, glancing behind her. He gives a tch of faint annoyance, though he pushes some levity into his tone. "Sorry rookies. Looks like backup isn't here yet."

Whoa, hey! Echo's voice pops up, and Zeno gives a sigh of relief, though it's quiet by necessity. The rookie in his arms gives a low noise, and he ignores it. Kazue however, darts over to give him another mouthful of Dimate, mindful of the silently watching Darkers. Don't go giving the new recruits the wrong idea about me! Her complaint makes him roll his eyes.

"It's your fault for being la – never mind," He sighs. "More importantly, what's the situation looking like?"

If you're looking to me for good news, I'm going to have to say it's a no go. After the first extraction the number of Darkers went up – if we tried now they'd flood the telepipe and kill everyone onboard. Afin looks even more nervous, but Kazue doesn't even look away from what she's doing.

"Tch." He gives an annoyed sound, before giving the girl an apologetic look. She understands easily enough, seeing the sudden flurry of movement and immediately takes the downed rookie off his hands. "So basically, we're stuck until they're gone." He pinches the bridge of his nose, thumb circling the bridge as he scowls.

Should I join you? I should be able to drop off nearby. Zeno doesn't quite shake his head, aware she can't see him, but he doesn't doubt she can imagine it.

"There's no point. One of the rookies here is actually pretty good. She's almost stronger than you." He jibes, playfully. Of course, Echo is bound to take exception, but another plume of dark smoke catches his attention. "Okay rookies," He tells them both with a wry grin that he doesn't feel. "This ought to be the last of them. Let's get rid of them and call it a day" Lyra nudges his shoulder, and he pats them, feeling the warmth emanating from their casing. "Thanks buddy," He murmurs. Seeking the oddly shimmering feeling of slick energy, he can't help but relax, glowing white light enveloping his little buddy as they put some distance away to summon one of the stored Photon Blasts Oracle had in stock.

Surprise surprise, he'd gotten Helix Proi, which was useful, enough, since they'd taken care of everyone behind them. The rookies look appropriately amazed, and he can't help but smirk a little. Showing off now and again never got old. Kazue notices him looking and slaps on a bored look, sticking her nose in the air snootily. He muffles a snicker. Afin is far too easily impressed as Helix disappears into the ether and Lyra returns to his side. Most of them are a blackened mass and are already dissolving, but there's still some left, climbing on shaking legs to scuttle closer, claws and pincers at the ready.

To Zeno's eternal surprise, Afin has rallied himself, gun aiming for the cores that he could see while Kazue set the injured man on the ground, darting forward to spin the Rod around and summon a circling inferno to guard him. Duly protected, she joined her partner, and Zeno gives a quick, approving nod at her, smashing his sword hilt-first into the core of one, swinging it around to follow up with a momentum powered strike down, cleaving it in half. His mouth curves into a smile as he falls into a pattern of parry, strike, and dispel. It was easy to get into the rhythm of it, to enjoy the rush of blood in his veins from the light exercise.

Even if he wasn't really cutting loose on the Darkers so he could evaluate Kazue. She was… good. Smooth flow, excellent awareness of her surroundings, high energy pool… she'd be someone he could enjoy teaching. He'd never taught a Force specialist, which was a damn shame, because she looked like the kind who could be good at it with a proper teacher.

He'd do, he supposes. Afin's shot passes by her and stuns a Darker, allowing her to get the drop on it, flames consuming the dying beast as the girl observes around them. Putting his weapon away, Zeno breathes a quiet sigh of relief. It's over at last, at least, as far as he can tell.

Telepipe coordinate transfer system is back online. All ARKS please return to base.

"Good job you two," Zeno offers them a broad compliment, moving to help Kazue pick up the man she'd put down and watching Afin check their surroundings warily. While he's kneeling, the girl's hand grips his arm and he stops as she tilts her head and looks at him intently. The feeling of familiarity increased, and he blinks back his surprise at the fact that she was bold enough to touch him.

"I know Afin seems like he complains a lot," Kazue says softly, her grip firm on his arm. "And he does, but he's a better shot when he doesn't bottle up his nerves. He's still figuring out his outlet, so please don't mind his words." Zeno tilts his head back, bemused. He hadn't been exactly hiding his irritation, but he was surprised the girl had cared enough to actively mention it to him.

"I can't see any Darkers, even with the scope," Afin says hesitantly, and Zeno gives the boy a smile, standing up with the unconscious examinee's arm around his neck. "Hey, partner – let me help out. Now that I don't have to shoot anything, I don't mind carrying." Kazue slips free, and Afin fits in, fitting much better than Kazue, whose height had been a bit of a problem. He didn't need to stoop down nearly as much, and the girl was quick to locate the Telepipe, waving at them both so they didn't have to wander around blind.

"Not bad." He compliments, unsure of what else to say. Given the boy's pleased expression at his words though, he supposes that did just fine. "You'd think they'd find a way to make the pipe stand out more," He mutters, more out of amusement than anything, and he hears Kazue give a muffled snort of agreement.

Huh. They hadn't ended up in a campship. One of the medical personnel was upon them, snatching the man between him and Afin before scuttling off. Afin is rubbing his neck, looking around in curious awe.

"Where are we?" Zeno can't help his amusement as Kazue finishes lecturing the personnel who'd jostled the poor examinee he'd been holding onto, before the girl answers Afin's question.

"Oracle's Naberius warship." Kazue answers promptly. "They break this baby out any time a Code D hits critical mass. We're lucky they didn't just bomb us to hell and gone," She added cheekily, making Afin blanch and Zeno laugh.

Kazue falls suddenly silent however, and she taps at her comm unit, looking annoyed. Zeno gives Afin a look askance, and the boy shrugs uncomfortably.

"She's been doing that for a while," He admitted. "I think her comm's not 100% on the channel, but we didn't get to troubleshoot before the Code D hit." Zeno raises an eyebrow. That sounded like the strange channel overlay he'd had earlier, but he decided not to probe as the girl pulls the unit out and fiddles with it.

"Hey!" Echo jogs up to them, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder. "Glad to see you made it back – you didn't get hurt, did you?" She's asking the students, and Zeno slaps on a mock offended look, glad for something normal in this whole chaotic mess.

"Hey now, I was with them. You think I'd ever let something bad happen to some rookies under my watch?" He complains good-naturedly. Echo gives him an unimpressed look, and he grins back.

"That's exactly what I was worried about." Echo's deadpan makes him roll his eyes, and she turns to them both. "I know that a Code D on your first day probably doesn't seem promising, but at least you two made it out okay – I'm glad you're both safe." She eyes him. "And I guess I'm glad you're back too." She adds grudgingly.

"Hey." He mutters, wounded by her words. Afin clears his throat, looking a little awkward.

"Um… Sir, who is this? And… uh… I don't think we caught your name either, sir…" Zeno huffs a soft laugh when he realizes that yes – he had forgotten to tell them his name.

"Oh my god Zeno – don't tell me you didn't even bother to introduce yourself!" Echo is less than impressed by that revelation, but before Zeno can even step in, Kazue does.

"To be fair we were running for our lives – talking was a non sequitur," Kazue points it out wryly. "I'm just glad we're alive." That shuts Echo up, and he hastily gets a few words in.

"Well, as Echo's shouted out for me, I'm Zeno. This obnoxious person right here is Echo, though to be fair you only heard her on the comms before. And to be fair, I'm kind of surprised you don't already know who I am," He chuckles slightly at her irritated look, and Kazue seems to perk up and recognize him.

"Ah – I'm Afin, I'm sure you already know," The blond smiles sheepishly, and Kazue gives an agreeable little wave of hello. "And this is my partner Kazue." He gives his partner a look. "You look like you recognize them from somewhere." Kazue smiles sheepishly.

"I'm afraid I don't actually recognize Echo… but I definitely know Zeno." There's an edge of mischief in her tone, and he begins to worry when she opens her mouth. "Aren't you the guy with the record for most classes skipped at the Academy?" Zeno's head jerks back, and he splutters. Echo is consumed by a sudden, mysterious coughing fit that he's sure is strangled laughter. "Between that and the detentions you served, a lot of people were amazed that you made it out at all." Echo's wheezing gets louder, and Zeno scowls at her, before turning a vaguely hurt look in the girl's direction.

"I liked you up until you opened your mouth and that came out." He grouses, watching the girl innocently smile up at him. Afin is torn between amusement and concern, and Kazue simply pats her friend's arm.

"I thought Darkers had already been cleared out for the exam." Kazue places the conversation back on track, and Zeno winces. He'd thought the same.

"Well, either way, today was a pretty valuable experience for you guys. There have been ops go bad when ARKS get caught off guard seeing a Darker for the first time," Zeno gives a shrug, resting his hands on his hips. Sympathy was all well and good until they were too dead to enjoy it. "They tell you all about them in school, but it's hard to explain how utterly devastated you'll feel when you encounter them... It feels like they suck out your every happy memory."

"Whoa – That's not fair to them, they've been through enough today Zeno! Can't you cut them some slack and be a little nicer about it?" She protests, and Zeno rolls his eyes. This was what she got for being mostly support, he thinks to himself.

"Really, it's fine," Kazue interjects, elbowing Afin before he can protest. "At least he's not lying to our faces about it – it really could have been worse out there." Kazue gets it, Zeno decides, pleased by her response.

"See? No harm done. Mission complete, good job for your first mission, yadda yadda," He smiles at them both, and gestures idly with a hand. "We'll be heading back to Oracle's main hub soon, so why don't you guys join us and get something to eat? You two worked hard today." Afin looks unnerved, and the girl sets her hand gently on his shoulder. She murmurs something to him, and Zeno only catches the bare edge of the conversation.

"We're still new… chin up, next time we might have more power to save people." He quirks an eyebrow, before realized they're all still splattered with the examinee's blood. "Can we clean up on the way?" She directs the last bit at them, and he smiles.

"Sure. We can meet up in the shopping complex after you two get your room assignments, and we'll pick a place to eat from there." The girl nods, clearly appeased, and Afin frowns a little, but nods. "C'mon. We've got a few minutes before the ship docks and we have to head directly to the Lobby, so give yourself some time to relax."

"You two can relax." Echo butts in. "Zeno and I need to deliver our report." Zeno grimaces, pulling a face. Couldn't she be a little less stiff?

"Urgh." He whines. "Alright fine, I'm going you damn drill sergeant." He digs into his pocket, pulling out a thin card. "Both of you have your phones on you right?" The two of them look bemused, but nod. "Okay, good, hold them up for me." Kazue pulls hers from her storage, but Afin has pockets in that complicated outfit of his, and digs his phone out, the two holding them up as asked. He taps the card against both phones, hearing a chime leave them as his data was registered. "Once you get your final exam results, you'll be able to give your partner card out to others, so hold onto it." They get a nod of agreement, and Kazue smiles at him.

"Thanks for saving our lives. I know we don't seem very grateful right now, but we do mean it." She smiles warmly at him, and Afin mutters his assent. He chuckles, reaching out to ruffle their hair with a smile. The girl deals with it gamely, but Afin squeaks, and he snickers a little.

"It was my pleasure. Remember rookies, give us a hail and I'll treat you to dinner!" He waves goodbye, Echo trailing behind as he jogs off towards the report desk.