Chapter Four
It was well into night time when Faasnu and Odahviing made it to the Thalmor Embassy. Fearing for his dragon comrade's safety, Faasnu had Odahviing land a kilometer away from the Embassy, in case the Thalmor had deployed any sort of anti-aircraft or anti-dragon emplacements in or around the Embassy since Dovahkiin's last visit there.
"Are you certain you can handle this on your own, Faasnu?" Odahviing asked. "Even Dovahkiin took precautions before infiltrating Thalmor territory."
"If I wasn't certain of this, zeymah, neither of us would be here," Faasnu answered. "But one way or the other, we need to find out who the Thalmor have allied with."
"You have an idea of who, yes?" Odahviing asked, looking back at Faasnu as he got the last of his equipment.
"If I had to guess," Faasnu responded, "I'd say it's the Zurrak or one of the other ex-Necromyan client races."
"Like who?" Odahviing queried.
"Luranni, Fasheen, splinter elements of the Charn and Squarr," Faasnu answered.
"How many client races were in this... Necromyan Collective?" Odahviing inquired.
"Eight," Faasnu responded. "Stularr, Terudall, Squarr, Charn, Luranni, Zurrak, Fasheen and Kirn. Most of the Necromyan client races are allies of the Corps now. The Necromyan Collective all but fell apart and dissolved after the Marauder War."
Odahviing paused, weighing his words before he spoke, "What if the Thalmor don't have any documents detailing their allies?"
"Then I'll find someone and eavesdrop on their conversation; this suit records my ops for review later," Faasnu explained. "Trust me, zeymah – I've got everything covered."
Faasnu loaded a magazine into his weapon – an advanced, integrally-suppressed RX Hybrid H3M2 – and racked a round into the chamber. "I'll signal you when I'm ready for extraction."
"And if the dominion detects your presence?" Odahviing asked tactfully.
"While I doubt the Dominion and it's Thalmor agents have the ability to track someone in adaptive camouflage," Faasnu replied, "If things get hot, you come in and get me out."
"Will do," Odahviing said. "Take care, Dovahkiir."
Faasnu keyed a combination in his gauntlet and vanished, moving unusually quiet for someone in an armored suit as bulky as the MASRA SOPIS MK IX Faasnu wore.
Elven affairs in Skyrim were coming apart at the seams. The Empire and the Stormcloaks were uniting, there could be no questioning that. First Emissary Elenwen had been transferred to Skyrim after the Thalmor emissary was sent to a reeducation camp in Summerset Isle for mistakenly assuming that the alliance between the Empire and the Stormcloak Rebellion wouldn't last. They were training their troops, and, on top of that, making strikes against Thalmor outposts. Moreover, they were fortifying multiple holds with things not even Thalmor scouts could identify. The city of Whiterun was the most fortified, by far. What few Thalmor spies that Elenwen had left reported that a single man – a man named Faasnu Dovahkiir, the supposed son of Dovahkiin – was behind this sudden rearmament. Initially, Elenwen thought that a mere human wouldn't be able to accomplish such things – but the evidence was overwhelming. Elenwen had sent assassins to take the human out, but none returned. Elenwen assumed they had been terminated.
Fortunately for the Dominion, there was a silver lining in this crisis; the Dominion's allies had a ship in orbit above the skies of Nirn, and were now eager to begin landing their troops. Something about how Faasnu's ship appeared and crashed in Skyrim had stirred them up into a frenzy – they seemed... fearful. If Elenwen had the intel correct, they believed that if Faasnu was here, the faction he served – one Dragon'taan Marauder Corps – would not be far behind.
Recent reports from Thalmor scouts that hadn't been killed and managed to make it back to Dominion territory indicated that Faasnu left Whiterun on the back of a Dragon, but why he left was unclear. It was possible that he left to gather allies among the dragons of Nirn, but who could tell? Given that Faasnu and the Dragon left two days prior to the report, it was anyone's guess as to where they were now.
So, as Elenwen stood to look out a window, she considered the possibility that – given Faasnu's affiliation – perhaps he was on his way to infiltrate Thalmor territory. A bold guess, but one that was just as possible as the former scenario.
Time would tell...
Faasnu crept toward the Thalmor Embassy, well northwest of Solitude. So far, Odahviing had maintained radio silence. Hell, he refrained from making any kind of noise, and the Thalmor gave no indication that they were aware of Faasnu's presence. And Faasnu intended to keep it that way.
He crept up through the snow toward one entrance, and noticed a pair of Aldmeri elven guards, one at the top of a set of stairs and another on the ground. The moment Faasnu took one out, the other would raise the alarm. He would have to take them both...
Such as it was, no planning was necessary; the top guard told the other he was going inside for a break, and left, leaving the one guard alone. Faasnu paused to consider his options. He could easily open fire, and take the guard out, but the guard may scream when he's shot, giving Faasnu's position away. On the other hand, Faasnu could knock him unconscious, and drag him off somewhere where it would be assumed he fell asleep. He settled in with the second option, and crept up on the soldier. He raised his weapon, and brought it down on his head with a dull thump! That done, he dragged the unconscious guard to a secluded corner and leaned him against the wall. Faasnu then doubled back to the entrance, and was about to reach for the door when it started to open. Faasnu scrambled to the side and waited. The one guard from earlier came out, and, seeing that his companion was gone, began calling his name. Faasnu waited for the door to shut, then bashed the soldier in the back of the head with the butt of his rifle. The elf was unconscious instantly, and Faasnu dragged him over to his pal, and leaned him against the opposite wall.
Satisfied with his progress thus far, Faasnu entered the Thalmor Embassy quietly, slowly opening and closing the door so as not to alert anyone nearby. Faasnu made a full circuit around the room, and found it empty. Satisfied that the immediate area was secure, Faasnu moved on, keeping his rifle ready to fire. He moved through another door and into the Embassy courtyard. For an embassy of the Aldmeri Dominion, the Thalmor embassy was surprisingly empty, not only of troops, but of material and everything else, for that matter. It raised an interesting question: Were the Thalmor pulling out, or were they moving their HQ in Skyrim elsewhere?
A door opening caused Faasnu to duck into an alcove.
"You hear about our new allies?" asked one elf, talking to another as they walked out the door together.
"Yeah," the other one said. "What were they called again?"
"Zurrak," the first answered, "With their Luranni Marines and their Fasheen warriors."
"I wonder: Why do these... aliens wish to fight for us?" the second asked.
"Who cares?" the first countered. "As long as they are willing to fight. When the Empire is cleansed from the land, the Dominion will assume it's rightful place as Tamriel's ruler... and we can perhaps begin to explore the reaches of space."
Not good, Faasnu thought. I'll need to find some evidence of the Thalmor's alliance with the Zurrak.
Faasnu waited until the duo passed out of earshot, then made for the office of the Emissary. According to the available data, the Emissary's name was Elenwen. Whether or not she was here was unclear, however – if she was here, Faasnu would have to find some way to draw her out, away from her office.
As though the divines themselves wished to help, Elenwen stepped out of the office building, and wandered off elsewhere. Perfect. Faasnu headed into the office building, and moved quietly from one desk to the next, looking through each one to find evidence to confirm what he recorded. He reached Elenwen's desk and looked through it, finding a number of documents and a holorecording. Accessing it in his armor, he viewed the only log entry, one containing a conversation between Elenwen and a Zurrak Cyborg.
"... Interesting that you are willing to aid us in our fight against the Empire, so I have to ask – what do you stand to gain?"
"We think you'd be an invaluable ally to us. After the fall of the Necromyan Collective, we who remained loyal to the Necromyan ideals found we were outnumbered and betrayed. We hope that, given time, you would consider joining us in creating a new collective."
"Of course, but we must be sure you are sincere. I'm sure you understand."
"Certainly. After all, we would ask the same of you had our positions been reversed. Now, regarding this... Liiraan prisoner of yours... the one known as Kabier?"
"What of her?"
"You know she has ties to the Argonian Royal Family and the Argonian Military?"
"Yes, we are well aware of that; why do you ask?"
"We believe she knows something we wish to know, or at the very least, will know how to reach someone who knows where we might find the shipment of weapons that was stolen by Argonian Raiders under her command."
"Oh, of course. If you feel it necessary, feel free to interrogate her. We have her down in the cell block beneath our Embassy in Skyrim. She-"
Faasnu turned off the recording. He stored what he found and made his way to what he believed to be the prison block. As soon as he opened the door, an elf called out from below, "Mistress Elenwen, is that you?"
Faasnu didn't answer. His armor could mimic voices, but he didn't have a sample of Elenwen's...
Wait a sec, Faasnu thought. He had the Holorecording. He accessed it, took a sample of Elenwen's voice, and spoke.
"How goes the interrogation?" he asked.
The elf paused. "I thought we were leaving the interrogation to our alien allies?" he asked.
Dammit! Faasnu cursed under his breath. He assessed the situation – the interrogator was alone, save for a guard guarding the door of the cell that Kabier was in. Faasnu rose from cover, decloaked, and fired two bursts that took down both the Thalmor soldiers. With any luck, he'd finished them quietly enough. No additional troops came to investigate, and Elenwen didn't come running. Faasnu headed down the stairs, nabbed the cell key off the interrogator, and opened the cell Kabier was in. She looked like a beautiful – if young – anthropomorphic Lioness with a thin body from borderline malnutrition and scarred from previous interrogations. Kabier looked defiantly at him.
"Princess Kabier, I presume?" Faasnu asked.
"Not exactly 'princess,' but who's asking?" Kabier inquired. "You're not Necromyan or Elven, I can see that much. Who are you?"
"Sergeant Major Faasnu Dovahkiir, Dragon'taan Marauder Corps," Faasnu introduced himself. "Heard you were being held prisoner, and I came to bust you out of here."
Kabier's expression lightened almost instantaneously. "Why didn't you say so? Just unlock these chains and let me grab my gear."
Faasnu did as was requested of him, and asked Kabier, "You sure you can move?"
"Given the circumstances, I think I can run," the lioness answered. She went rummaging through the detainee lockdown chest, and equipped herself with a DMC-issue tactical vest and an archaic-looking assault rifle reminiscent of the old AK47.
"An RX Kalashnikov AK50M8 and a DMC Tactical Vest?" Faasnu queried, "Where the hell did you get those?"
"Fell from a ship that crashed near Whiterun – almost hit me, too," Kabier answered. "Took me a while to figure out how to get this vest on; the gun I learned to use in an hour."
"Yeah, well, the RX Kalashnikov line of weapons is known for simplicity," Faasnu commented.
The Thalmor were still unaware of Faasnu's presence in the Embassy; the two soldiers entering the prison block were just performing a routine check on the area when they spotted Faasnu and Kabier. Both Faasnu and Kabier shot one of the soldiers and killed them.
"Come on," Faasnu requested, "Someone may have heard that."
"You do know that the one basement passageway has been sealed, right?" Kabier asked.
"Frankly, I didn't know there was one in the first place," Faasnu replied. "We're gonna have to fight our way through whatever Thalmor troops are up topside."
"Are there a lot of them?" Kabier inquired.
"Not really," Faasnu admitted. "I think they're pulling out. Where they're going is hard to say."
"I think I overheard the guards talking one night," Kabier said, "Something about how they found a new HQ somewhere to the east."
"We can worry about this later," Faasnu said. "Let's get out of here first."
"Have you a way to escape?" Kabier asked.
"I have a dragon waiting nearby – Odahviing. He can get us to safety," Faasnu explained. "Come on."
Faasnu and Kabier headed up through the door to the offices, and promptly ran into a Thalmor investigation team that was headed for the prison block. Faasnu and Kabier fired simultaneously, drilling the team in a short burst from both their weapons. Outside, a Thalmor patrol spotted Faasnu and Kabier killing the investigator team and shouted the alarm.
However, as soon as Faasnu and Kabier stepped outside, they were greeted by the sight of an armored Odahviing attacking the Thalmor troops. Faasnu and Kabier aided him in wiping out the Thalmor, then climbed onto Odahviing's back and took to the skies without a word...