Chapter Two
Paarthurnax awoke to the sound of metallic clicking. He opened his eyes to see that Faasnu was no longer in bed, but working to load the weapons he had been carrying on his ship. Unlike his appearance the previous night when he was asleep, Faasnu was dressed in his full combat armor.
"Shouldn't you be resting, godson?" he asked.
"When this armor is fully assembled on me," Faasnu replied, his voice mechanically distorted by the armor, "It has a number of medical uses. Basically, I am in tip-top shape – like I was before I crashed."
"So I imagine," Paarthurnax stated. "Have you learned what caused your ship to crash?"
"Haven't had the chance," Faasnu answered. "Been waiting on Ulfric and Tullius. They're gathering some of their men before we head down to what's left of my ship." Faasnu loaded a small container into a carbine-looking weapon.
"Which weapon is that?" Paarthurnax asked.
"This," Faasnu answered, "Is a Model Seventy-Six Kadgeron Disruptor Rifle. Sure, it looks small, but the energy cells last a long time and the weapon is quite powerful – fully charged shots have been known to vaporize a full-grown human."
"Vaporize... meaning what?" Paarthurnax asked.
"In other words, the energy pulses from the disruptor will disintegrate organic material with such ease, not even ashes will remain," Faasnu replied. "One hit, and poof! You're toast."
"Remarkable weaponry," Paarthurnax commented.
"Eh – it gets the job done. Besides; no one ever said war was pretty," Faasnu stated.
"No," Paarthurnax agreed, "It never is."
At that moment, Tullius, Ulfric, and a band of Imperial Legion and Stormcloak soldiers marched into the room.
"Sorry we're late," Tullius apologized. "Had to give the men a crash-course overnight on your weapons. Hope you don't mind."
"Actually, that's what I'd have done, so you did good," Faasnu commented. "I've got a number of Disruptors prepped over there. Help yourselves." Faasnu pointed to a rack holding several Disruptor Rifles. The Legion and Stormcloak soldiers loaded up, and Faasnu picked up a sheathed katana. He drew the blade out, visually inspecting it. It was made up of Titanium with edges of hardened diamond.
"Interesting blade," Paarthurnax remarked.
"It was a trophy from a kill years ago, the day I became a Sergeant Major," Faasnu replied. He slid the katana back in it's sheath. "Leapt into an enemy bunker, killed their NCO and took his sword, and slaughtered everyone else inside. Then, I led the Marauder Corps forces to victory on that particular world. Ever since then, this sword has stuck with me."
"So, what are we hoping to achieve going back to your ship, Faasnu?" Ulfric asked.
"First thing that needs be done is to set the beacon, or at least retrieve it so I can set it up later," Faasnu answered. "Secondary to these goals is to assess the damage to my ship – I may be able to tell you what brought my ship down."
"Well, let's not waste any more time here," Tullius suggested. "I want to get this done before the Thalmor show up."
"Oh, don't worry," Faasnu said, a hint of malicious humor in his voice, "Once we get this done, I'll booby-trap my ship – if the Thalmor do come, they'll get a nasty surprise."
Soldiers moved out, armed with the disruptors Faasnu provided, and Ulfric, Tullius, and Faasnu walked behind them.
"Shall I cover you from above?" Paarthurnax asked.
"Command thinking, Uncle," Faasnu replied. "Hit the sky and tell me what you see."
It took ten minutes to get to what was left of Faasnu's ship, with Paarthurnax and Odahviing patrolling the sky looking for any sign of the Thalmor's presence. So far, they had made no indication that they were aware of Faasnu's presence. They reached Faasnu's ship, where they retrieved the beacon with Faasnu's help, and Faasnu went about examining his ship while the troopers took the beacon back to Whiterun. During the examination, Faasnu called Tullius and Ulfric up to the top of the craft.
"Ulfric, Tullius... you might want to take a look at this," he told them. They headed up to Faasnu's location, and were greeted by the sight of black, charred metal.
"By the nine... what caused this?" Ulfric asked in awe.
"I can say for certain, now, that my ship wasn't brought down by accident," Faasnu explained. "This damage is consistent with high-intensity plasma weapons mounted on a much larger ship."
"Meaning someone shot you down and caused you to crash," Tullius deduced.
"Exactly," Faasnu affirmed. "Seems our Thalmor friends have some friends of their own – I'd guess Zurrak, Luranni, and any other ex-client race of the Necromyan Collective that didn't ally with the Marauder Corps at the close of the Marauder War."
"Is booby-trapping this ship still going to work?" Ulfric asked.
"It will, but I'll have to do something I've never done before," Faasnu answered. "I'll have to wire the ship with plastic explosives."
"I'm guessing that plastic explosives are high-end explosives," Tullius guessed.
"Very high-end," Faasnu affirmed. "Just five pounds of it is enough to level Dragonsreach."
Tullius let loose a long whistle. "That's heavy," he commented.
"Can you still set the beacon?" Ulfric inquired. "Let your allies know where you are?"
"Yes, but there's a problem with that," Faasnu explained. "The instant I set that beacon, every sensor in this 'verse will be able to track it – whoever the Thalmor's friends are, they will be able to spot it, and will come running to shut it off."
"Meaning that we can expect Whiterun to come under attack," Ulfric finished. "Great."
"But it's not as though we have any choice," Faasnu said. "If we can keep that beacon going for three days, the DMC will get a lock and send a fleet to assist us."
"Then let's not waste time here," Tullius suggested. "Dovahkiir, do what you need to do, then meet us back at Whiterun."
"Way ahead of you, General," Faasnu said. He went about booby-trapping what was left of his ship, then headed off to Whiterun.
"Is it done?" Balgruuf asked as Faasnu marched into the palace.
"If the Thalmor try to get into my ship," Faasnu answered, "They're in for an explosive surprise."
"Well, good," Balgruuf said, "But Imperial couriers have delivered a message while you were away – the Emperor would like you to appear in a special speech to the armies of the Empire."
"Just me?" Faasnu asked.
"Well, his majesty asked Ulfric and I to make appearances as well," Tullius responded. "I think Emperor Meade wants to hear what we have planned in regards to the Dominion and their Thalmor agents."
"Okay, where are we going?" Faasnu inquired.
"Oh, we're not going anywhere – the Emperor is coming here to Whiterun," Tullius answered.
"Yes, the emperor wants to meet the warrior he believes will bring us victory against the Dominion," Balgruuf chuckled.
"You've only been here a day, and already, word of you is spreading like wildfire," Ulfric commented.
"If that be the case," Faasnu responded, "I'd advise we take our security more seriously – The Thalmor may not take kindly to my presence here."
"Agreed," Ulfric said. "They'll likely try to assassinate you in an attempt to prevent you from setting that beacon."
"We're not setting it immediately," Faasnu said.
Balgruuf frowned. "Why not?" he queried.
"As I said before," Faasnu explained, "the instant I set that beacon, every sensor in this 'verse will detect it – whoever shot me down may still be in the area, and they will send an attack force the moment we set the signal."
"So what do you intend to do?" Balgruuf demanded. "Wait until the Dominion attack?"
"No," Faasnu answered, "I intend to train a select group of one hundred soldiers from both Tullius's and Ulfric's forces in the use of the weapons I have – these groups will train the thousands of soldiers that remain."
"Shall we assemble our best?" Tullius asked.
"That would be good," Faasnu said. "I wish to speak to them, explain to them how they will be trained."
As Ulfric and Tullius left to gather their troops, Faasnu asked Balgruuf, "How soon is the emperor coming?"
"He will be here in four weeks," Balgruuf answered.
"Which is one week more than I need," Faasnu chuckled with a smile.
"You think you can train two hundred soldiers in three weeks?" Balgruuf inquired quizzically.
"I've done it in two before with twice that many men in a boot camp on Dragon'taan," Faasnu responded. "I know how to train troops the likes of which reside here in a way that clicks to them."
"And once these troops are trained?" Balgruuf asked. "What then?"
"As I said, they will train the thousands that remained, week by week for the next two months."
"By then, we'll have trained the Imperial and Stormcloak forces, and the Thalmor won't stand a chance," Balgruuf surmised.
"And while they are training, I will slip behind enemy lines and confirm that the Aldmeri Dominion are working with who I think they're working with," Faasnu concluded. "And when I do, I will set that beacon..."
"... And start the war that has been brewing this whole time," Balgruuf said. "Clever."
"By the time the enemy figures out what went wrong, we'll have this war in a bag," Faasnu chuckled.
So it begins... Balgruuf thought to himself.