Chapter Eleven

The situation in Helstrom was better than anticipated; thanks to Faasnu and Kabier's timely intervention, the Argonian capitol had been saved from being bombarded to oblivion. However, there was still the problem of the team of Thalmor agents on board the Ardent. Faasnu learned that – contrary to what he thought earlier – the enemy believed the defector they were looking for was also somewhere on board the Ardent, but the defector's name was not mentioned.

The Defector would not be released until the Thalmor team had been eliminated, which meant that Faasnu would have to hunt them down corridor-to-corridor in an Ares-class Attack Cruiser, a warship 6.5 kilometers in length. The Thalmor could be anywhere in that ship; fortunately, the captain of the Ardent had arranged for a meeting with the defector. Though it was dangerous, Faasnu saw the meeting as an opportunity to draw out the Thalmor agents. As Faasnu and Kabier headed for the gravity lift, Kabier spoke up.

"Think Elenwen could be the defector?" she asked.

"As I said before, I can't imagine why she'd want to defect," Faasnu answered. "She has no reason to, as far as I know."

"Yeah, key phrase being 'as far as you know,'" Kabier joked as they stepped onto the gravity lift. "But seriously – if Elenwen was the defector-"

"Since when did we deal in 'what ifs'?" Faasnu asked. Kabier just laughed. They ascended the lift, and were deposited in the cargo bay of the Ardent. They were then met by a pair of dragon-shifter NCOs.

"Captain Faasnu, I presume?" the first asked.

"That's correct, sergeant," Faasnu answered.

"We've been ordered to escort you to the captain's ready room," the sergeant said.

"Lead on, then," Faasnu said, shifting his H3M2 around in his arms. The NCOs then led Faasnu and Kabier through the bowels of the ship.

"Very nice," Kabier commented.

"The interior of a Marauder-class Star Dreadnought is far more impressive," Faasnu stated. "... And large."

"So I imagine," Kabier remarked. They continued through the innards of the Ardent, until they stepped onto the bridge. From there, they moved along the right perimeter of the room and entered a door, coming into the Captain's cabin, then finally through another door to the captain's ready room. He was standing with an Aldmeri elven woman, conversing with her.

"... Your daughter and fiance will be well-protected here, I assure you," the Captain said.

"I don't doubt your ability to protect my family, Captain Treege," the elven woman said, "I am merely voicing my concerns, nothing more."

"Elenwen?" Faasnu queried incredulously. "You're the defector?"

"Are you surprised?" Elenwen asked.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't," Faasnu replied. "What made you switch sides?"

"It's a long story," Elenwen said. "Suffice it to say, my loyalty to the Dominion and the Thalmor have been shattered in the wake of recent events; I now look after the welfare of my family."

"Told you," Kabier commented.

"I didn't think you had a family," Faasnu stated. "But in my experience, the safety and welfare of one's family can compel them to do things... once unthinkable."

"Indeed," Elenwen agreed. "My daughter and my future husband are the reasons I resigned my post as First Emissary to the Thalmor. Unfortunately for me, however, one of my friends did not see my reasons, and alerted the Thalmor of my... 'desertion,' and they sent an Infiltrator team to assassinate me."

"They want to kill you?" Kabier asked, "Not capture and torture you or something?"

"Not just me," Elenwen corrected her, "My daughter, as well. If they find my fiance, they'll kill him, too."

"Where are they?" Faasnu inquired.

"They're safe, and I've no reason to believe they've been located by the-"

A DMC Lieutenant entered the room and saluted the officers present. "I apologize for the intrusion, sirs, but we have a new problem."

"What's new?" Treege queried.

"The Thalmor team have been sighted headed toward engineering," the Lieutenant answered. "At last report, they were carrying explosives stolen from the armory."

"That's news," Kabier commented.

"I'd advise you take this more seriously, Kabier," Faasnu said. "If they manage to detonate those explosives near or on the main reactor, they could destroy the Ardent and Helstrom with one explosion."

"Well, fuck," Kabier growled. "That's progress."

"Count me in," Elenwen said.

"You got a good weapon?" Faasnu asked. Treege opened a compartment in the wall and tossed a disruptor rifle to Elenwen.

"Does that answer your question, Dovahkiir?" she asked rhetorically. The now-fire team readied weapons and headed for Engineering...

Faasnu, Kabier and Elenwen headed through the superstructure of the Ardent, headed for Engineering and hoping they weren't too late. With the engineering teams elsewhere in the ship, the Thalmor agents would find it relatively easy to move throughout the engineering compartment.

The doors to engineering parted, and Faasnu, Kabier, and Elenwen stepped into the engine room.

"Wow," Elenwen commented. "Those are big engines."

Kabier spotted someone dressed in an engineer outfit. "Hey, look – that engineer might know where our Thalmor friends are hiding," she said.

"Hold on a sec," Faasnu responded, stopping Kabier, "Captain Treege said that the engineering section was empty – the engineers are elsewhere on the ship or down in Helstrom. No one's supposed to be in here."

"Thalmor in disguise?" Elenwen queried. "I'm not surprised."

The engineer Kabier spotted suddenly whirled around and fired a burst from an automatic weapon. Faasnu, Kabier and Elenwen scattered, diving behind cover.

"Dammit..." Faasnu grunted, racking a round into the chamber of his weapon, "... I'm getting tired of being right all the time." He rose from cover, firing on the Thalmor agent, who took a round in the shoulder as he ran for cover. Plasma fire lashed down from somewhere above, forcing Faasnu to duck back down.

"What is this, a tag team?!" Kabier exclaimed. She rose and fired, icing the Thalmor bastard. Her armor took a hit, and she ducked down again. "... Ow."

"You're not bleeding, so I guess that's something," Faasnu commented. Elenwen rose from cover and fired her disruptor. The agent that hit Kabier took a pulse to the face and dropped like a rock. Elenwen returned to cover as another agent somewhere above fired on her with an automatic rifle.

"I've got an idea," Faasnu said, "You two keep their attention; I'll flank around and take them from behind."

"Got it," Kabier responded. She and Elenwen fired on the agent firing on them, while Faasnu vanished in his PCD field and began to make his way to the upper levels. Along the way, he disabled bombs attached to the critical systems. Why they weren't guarded was a mystery to Faasnu; perhaps the agents on the ship were stretched thin as it is? Perhaps. Regardless, he disabled the last of the bombs and arrived on the upper level; the Thalmor agents were keeping Kabier and Elenwen pinned down, and had no idea that Faasnu had crept up on them. Drawing his katanas, Faasnu cut the Thalmor down one after the other until the upper level was clear.

Silence settled over the engine room as Faasnu disengaged his PCD. The Thalmor were defeated, and the Ardent was safe.

"Engineering to the Bridge," Faasnu said over the ship's intercom, "All hostiles have been eliminated."

"Your reputation is well-deserved, Captain Faasnu," Treege answered. "However, we just got word from General Indari – he needs you back in Cyrodiil."

"Affirmative, Captain," Faasnu said. He made his way down to Kabier and Elenwen, and they headed down to the shuttle bay.

Black Marsh was secure, and Faasnu was eager to carry out the next move...