Chapter Ten

Faasnu and Kabier woke thirty minutes early, dressed, armored up and got their effects in order, and were at the transport bound for Black Marsh by 0250. In the ten minutes before the transport – a helicopter – lifted off, Faasnu and Kabier managed to fall asleep. During the trip, however, things went haywire. Kabier and Faasnu awoke to panicked chatter between the pilots.

"Something's not right, I'm telling you," one said.

"You always say that, Jack," the other responded. "You always say 'I got a bad feeling about this trip.'"

No sooner did the other pilot respond did the pounding of anti-aircraft guns sound. The transport helicopter lurched, and Jack screamed, "Quad 50! We're hit! We're hit!"

The helicopter spun out of control, and finally crashed in the swamp. Both pilots were killed on impact, but Kabier and Faasnu, secured the whole time, survived. They grabbed their effects and exited the crashed chopper.

"What was that about?" Kabier asked.

"Dominion forces must have anticipated our arrival," Faasnu said. "But what I want to know is where the hell they got their hands on a Quad 50."

"What's a Quad 50?" Kabier inquired.

"It's a towable, four-barreled, .50-Caliber Anti-aircraft gun," Faasnu answered. "Decommissioned years ago."

The helicopter they had been on suddenly exploded, causing Faasnu and Kabier to jump.

"There goes our ride to Helstrom," Kabier said.

"We'll find a new ride," Faasnu assured her. "Come on."

The armored duo moved through the swamps wordlessly, keeping an eye out for any sign of the anti-aircraft gun that shot them down.

"Can I ask you something?" Faasnu asked.

"Sure," Kabier answered.

"It's obvious you're not from these parts; how did you end up here?" Faasnu queried.

"Crashed, same as you," Kabier responded. "I'm just glad it wasn't my father's ship I crashed on."

"So I imagine," Faasnu commented. "Did you get shot down, too?"

"No – my ship was brought down by a combination of a rogue comet and poor maintenance," Kabier answered.

"Damn," Faasnu remarked. "That sucks." They continued through the swamp, and Faasnu added, "Where did you crash?"

"Uh... about two klicks away from Helstrom," Kabier answered. "Why?"

"Because we could-" Faasnu stopped midsentence. Kabier stilled her breathing, and heard it – Thalmor or Dominion forces nearby.

"Where did they crash?" one asked.

"Not far – about half a kilometer that way," another answered.

Faasnu and Kabier activated their PCDs and vanished, and sure enough, Thalmor agents came wandering into the area.

"You think she's here?" a third inquired.

"Maybe, maybe not," the first responded. "She may have gone to Helstrom."

"Why are we looking for her, again?" the second queried.

"We think she may be trying to defect," the first answered.

The Thalmor fire team moved out of earshot, and Faasnu and Kabier rose from cover and continued toward Helstrom.

"You don't think they were referring to Elenwen, do you?" Kabier queried.

"Can't imagine why she'd want to defect," Faasnu answered, "But whoever the defector is, we can reasonably surmise that more may follow."

They continued through the swamp, keeping an eye out for more Thalmor troops, when they came across a road. And on that road was a Thalmor convoy moving a four-barreled anti-aircraft gun.

"Think that's the gun that shot us down?" Kabier whispered.

"Possibly," Faasnu replied. "We need to-"

Faasnu was interrupted when a rocket launcher fired, and a rocket came streaming out of the woodwork, striking the anti-aircraft gun and decimating it. Argonian raiders came flooding in from the surrounding swamp, firing assault weapons at the surprised Dominion troops.

"Show time," growled Faasnu as he and Kabier rose from cover, disengaged their PCDs and engaged the enemy. The whole firefight lasted no more than two minutes, after which, the lead raider approached Kabier and Faasnu.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Captain Faasnu Dovahkiir, Dragon'taan Marauder Corps," Faasnu responded. "This is Kabier. We were headed for Helstrom when out transport was shot down."

"You, too?" the Raider asked. He paused, then said, "I'm Dar-Jee, a member of the Argonian Raiders. Seems everyone's headed for Helstrom."

"How so?" Kabier inquired.

"It's being besieged by Dominion and Necromyan forces," Dar-Jee answered.

Faasnu frowned. "Why are they besieging Helstrom?" he asked. "They're cut off."

"They think a defector is in the city," Dar-Jee replied. "They have orders to terminate the traitor at all costs."

"Does this defector have a name?" Kabier inquired.

"I wouldn't be the one to know," Dar-Jee said. "Only the Royal Family know who the traitor really is."

"How far is Helstrom from here?" Kabier asked.

"About... three kilometers," Dar-Jee replied. "We have a transport that can get you there quickly."

"Good, let's go," Faasnu suggested. "Sooner we get there, the better."

It was then that Paarthurnax came swooping in from somewhere above. Weapons were raised immediately. Faasnu threw his hands up in alarm. "Don't shoot! This one's with me."

"Sorry," Dar-Jee apologized. "We Argonians are still getting used to the idea of Dragons being our allies."

"I came as fast as I could when I heard your transport had been shot down," Paarthurnax said. "Are you hurt?"

"Considering I survived being shot down in a helicopter, I am fine, Uncle Paarthurnax," Faasnu answered. "We were about to head for Helstrom."

"You may want to hurry if you're heading there," Paarthurnax said.

"We know," Faasnu responded, "Helstrom is under siege. Did you see their camp?"

"It's hard to miss," the aging dragon stated. "They have big guns pounding the hell out of Helstrom's shields."

"Then we've no time to lose," Faasnu growled. "Gentlemen, let's move out!"

The drop ship dropped the Argonian forces near the enemy camp with Faasnu and Kabier. Faasnu, not wanting to risk his godfather in this fight, requested Paarthurnax to stay out of the battle.

The situation in and around Helstrom was bordering on grim; the Dominion forces had managed to set up a series of Energy Flak Cannons, and were bombarding Helstrom's shields, provided by the DMC Attack Cruiser Ardent. Last communication with the Ardent put their shield strength at fifteen percent. As an added threat, there was a team of Thalmor Infiltrators somewhere on board the Ardent supposedly looking for a way to shut down her shields. Primary objective was to destroy the Dominion's artillery to keep it from wearing down the Ardent's shields. Secondary to that objective was to locate and neutralize the Thalmor team on the Ardent before they could shut down the shields.

Faasnu and Kabier were both armed with the same weapons they had since Whiterun, and freshly-resupplied with ammo and a number of grenades. Faasnu primed one and said, "No need to keep this subtle," before he tossed it toward one of the cannons. The grenade – a Plasma Grenade – landed near an energy capacitor that was to be used with the Cannon; when the grenade detonated, it sent a violent jolt into the cannon, causing it to overload and explode, and decimated any Dominion forces in the immediate area. Kabier threw a grenade herself, and the resulting explosion punched a hole in the enemy's formation. Argonians rose from cover, firing their assault rifles at the Dominion troops.

The enemy, however, had apparently expected an armed response from behind; they dove behind previously-erected improvised bunkers and returned fire. The firefight quickly morphed into a stalemate.

"Faasnu, we gotta take those other cannons out of commission!" Kabier shouted over the gunfire.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Faasnu shouted back. He turned to Dar-Jee. "Sergeant! Keep the enemy's attention on you! Kabier and I will sneak around and sabotage those cannons!"

"You got it, Captain!" Dar-Jee exclaimed. He and his raiders kept firing their weapons at the Dominion troops, keeping them from noticing Faasnu and Kabier engaging their PCDs and vanishing from sight. Faasnu and Kabier moved along the perimeter of the battle, and came at the cannons from another direction. The cannons continued to fire their shells at Helstrom. It was as Faasnu approached one of the guns that he made an interesting observation:

The Cannons themselves were, in fact, walkers – they rode on four legs. Faasnu quickly hijacked one as Kabier demanded, "Faasnu, what the hell are you doing?!"

"I've got an idea!" he responded. He turned the cannon to face the others, and fired. The heavy-energy flak shell blew the cannon it hit apart like a pile of tin cans, and Faasnu was quick to fire again. The second cannon was ignited like gasoline, and blew up.

The Dominion took notice of how the cannon was destroying their other cannons, and fired on the now-rogue cannon. One of the troops was armed with a rocket launcher.

"Faasnu! Get out of there!" Kabier screamed. She took aim with her rifle, but was too late; the rocket launcher discharged.

"Wuld... Nah Kest!" Faasnu exclaimed. He was instantly catapulted through the air, and landed amid the Dominion's formation, katanas drawn as the cannon behind him was ignited and blew up. In a flash of rage, steel, and blood, Faasnu cut the Dominion troops down one after the other.

After a bloodbath that lasted no more than a minute, Dominion troops threw down their weapons in a sign of surrender.

The day was won. Again. But there was still the Ardent to secure, and Faasnu was only too eager to get it done as he picked his weapon up and headed out to Helstrom with Kabier, the raiders, and their new prisoners...