Chapter Seventeen
Having been re-supplied at Silvenar, Faasnu, Kabier and Elenwen and the forces under their command massed for the attack on Falinesti. Every other city in Valenwood had been taken by DMC, Imperial or Stormcloak forces. All that remained was the Bosmer capital. The Dominion and their Necromyan allies knew that Falinesti was the final bastion of Thalmor influence before the Aldmeri homeland. They would fight savagely.
Because Faasnu had taken the allied forces so far, and had won them several great victories, General Indari and Emperor Meade decided to promote Faasnu to a full Colonel. Faasnu wore the rank proudly. But his task was not over. He had to take Falinesti from the enemy, then hold Valenwood from whatever counterattack came. It would not be an easy task, but Faasnu was confident he would prevail.
The assault on Falinesti was simple, but different than the attack on Silvenar: The DMC and Imperial forces mounted a frontal assault on Dominion and Necromyan lines, while Faasnu, Kabier and Elenwen, working with the Stormcloak Special Forces, dropped behind enemy lines to gather any kind of intel whatsoever. Faasnu, Kabier and Elenwen, specifically, were being dropped near an enemy command and control center. Their task was to find any information on enemy troop strengths in Summerset Isle, if any. The drop ship pilot flew the transport through a shitstorm of anti-aircraft fire while Faasnu, Kabier and two other Stormcloak soldiers geared up in the back. Elenwen was on another transport.
"Alert," the pilot announced, "Enemy Command and Control Center in sight... you are jumping into some deep shit, Colonel."
"We're here to gather any intel on the enemy troop strength in Summerset Isle," Faasnu explained. "My guess would be that any such intel would be in a safe room with one of the officers in charge of the enemy defense; once we have the intel, we proceed directly to the enemy command center, take out the head honcho."
"Let's do it!" Kabier whooped excitedly.
"Colonel Faasnu and team, hook up," The pilot said. Faasnu, Kabier and the Stormcloak soldiers hooked a line onto one of the rings in the cabin of the transport, then began to slide down on the ropes attached. As Faasnu rode down, he looked for a fraction of a second at the sky, blood-red and mired by smoke from numerous fires all around Falinesti. Down below, numerous anti-aircraft gun emplacements fired on the dragons and aircraft that swarmed around the Bosmer capital. One of those guns shifted their fire and scored a direct hit on the transport carrying Faasnu and his team on ropes.
"Quad 50! We're hit! We're hit! Mayday!" The pilot shouted over the radio. The transport spun out of control, and took Faasnu and his team with it. Faasnu and Kabier were lucky enough to burst through a pair of windows on the uppermost level of the enemy CAC center; the two Stormcloaks that had been with them smacked into a wall and shattered their bones – they were dead before they hit the ground with the transport.
"Hotel Six, this is Command, come back, over," One of the aircraft commanders requested. "Hotel Six, do you roger? Over."
"Command, Hotel Six is gone, over," One of the other transport pilots reported. "Colonel Faasnu, report, over."
Faasnu growled and grabbed his radio. "We're fine, thanks," he reported with a hint of sarcasm.
"That was fun," Kabier chuckled. She racked a round into the chamber of her rifle, and Faasnu did the same. They both readied their rifles just in time – a pair of Luranni marines came into the room to see what was the nature of the disturbance caused by the shattering windows. Needless to say, both of them were drilled before they could react. Faasnu and Kabier headed out of the room, where they came under fire from a three-man team of Fasheen Marauders. Faasnu and Kabier took cover and returned fire, icing one of them as he hit a wall running for cover. Faasnu rolled a grenade down the hall, and it detonated, riddling the other two with shrapnel. Faasnu and Kabier rose from cover, and continued down the hall.
"Command," Elenwen said over the radio, "I have eyes on Colonel Faasnu; he's got Dominion troops all over the north wing!"
"Roger," Command responded. "Your call, Colonel."
"Light 'em up!" Faasnu commanded.
"Roger that," Elenwen said. "Keep your heads down!"
Faasnu and Kabier ducked behind a wall just shy of another room, where a large congregation of Dominion soldiers stood. One of them spotted an attack transport, and shouted an alarm just a second before dual rotary plasma autocannons began to shred them. In less than ten seconds, the room was clear.
"You're clear, Colonel," Elenwen reported.
Faasnu and Kabier rose from cover and moved through the mass of corpses, ignoring the smell of melted flesh. They went through one doorway, and came upon another pair of Dominion troops. Unfortunately for them, they had their backs turned and were moving away from the grisly massacre that had occurred only seconds ago. Faasnu and Kabier simultaneously raised their weapons and fired, killing both of them before they knew what happened. They moved past the bodies, and toward another room when Elenwen radioed again.
"Colonel Faasnu, Kabier, be advised – we're breaching the roof."
"Copy," Faasnu responded. Seconds later, just as Elenwen had said, the roof exploded, and Elenwen came riding down on a rope, firing on the already-present Luranni marines. Three more Stormcloak soldiers rode down with her, and the Luranni retreated.
"Good to see you're okay, Faasnu," Elenwen said.
"You'll find it's hard to kill a dragon-shifter," Faasnu chuckled. "Let's get going."
The team moved through the superstructure of the CAC center, keeping an eye out for enemy troops. It wasn't until they came upon the safe room that they ran into significant opposition: a mixed squad of Dominion and Luranni troops, scattered about both levels of the room. One of them in a window lit something on fire, and Faasnu spotted it and shouted, "COVER!" The enemy soldier tossed his lit item to the ground floor, and it exploded in a shower of flames, lighting the surrounding area ablaze.
"Since when did the Dominion use Molotov Cocktails?!" Kabier shouted.
"What Cocktails?" Elenwen asked.
"Never mind that!" Faasnu exclaimed. "Return fire!" He rose from cover and shot the Dominion who'd thrown the Molotov, and as he dropped, the grenade that was in his hand detonated, blasting a hole in the floor of his post. Faasnu and his team moved downstairs, shooting the enemies that didn't retreat. Beyond the blazed room was a safe room. Tapping into his dragon-shifter power, he kicked the door with such brute strength and force, it took part of the wall with it. The team drilled those inside, but none were the officer they were looking for.
"Officer's not here," Kabier observed. "He may have fallen back to the command room."
"Command," Faasnu demanded, "Status on the assault?"
"Colonel Faasnu, be advised – Dominion forces have fallen back to the main command center; DMC and Imperial forces currently engaged in heavy fighting south of the CAC center," Command answered. "Necromyan forces retreating in your direction; you better get your asses in gear if you don't want to get swarmed."
"Shit," Faasnu cursed. "Enemy forces headed this way. Let's get that intel and high-tail it out. Let's go, on me!"
Before the team could move out, the door opposite to the one Faasnu had kicked down exploded; the team barely had time to avoid the flying metal door. The Luranni marines that came through the new aperture stood and looked around, trying to ascertain...
They didn't have to look long; Kabier tossed a primed grenade into their midst. What they didn't know was that Kabier had waited a couple of seconds before tossing the device; it exploded almost as soon as it hit the ground at an NCO's feet. The NCO was blown in six different directions, and his comrades were riddled with shrapnel. The two survivors were dazed, and then cut down as Faasnu and his team rose and shot them dead. They headed through the blown door, and emerged at yet another congregation of Necromyan soldiers inside a war room: This mass was a mixed bag of Luranni marines, Squarr soldiers, Fasheen officers and Zurrak combat cyborgs. The team engaged immediately, catching the mass by surprise. Kabier and Elenwen both tossed plasma grenades to the bunch below; one of them fused to a Luranni's face and vaporized him when it detonated; the other landed between a Fasheen and a pair of Squarr soldiers. The explosion slaughtered them, and set off the Fasheen officer's grenades, which decimated those below. Faasnu and his team mopped up what was left up on the upper level, and descended into the war room.
"Colonel Faasnu, be advised," Command said, "Allied forces engaged in heavy fighting with Necromyan troops at your location, you are cut off."
"Acknowledged," Faasnu stated. He kicked a door down and was presented with a hall with three doors. He pointed to two of the Stormcloak soldiers, then the leftmost door. Then, he pointed to Elenwen and the third Stormcloak soldier, then the rightmost door. He looked to Kabier, and motioned her to follow him. While the others searched the other two rooms, Faasnu and Kabier headed for the door at the far end of the hallway. Faasnu kicked the door in, and as he stepped inside, he was immediately ambushed by a Fasheen officer bearing the insignia of a Major. The Fasheen didn't seem to notice Kabier as he tackled Faasnu to the ground, trying to plunge his knife into Faasnu's chest. The first hint he had that he'd overlooked her was when a blade burst through his chest. Shortly thereafter, the blade retracted from his chest, and his head was sliced clean off. Kabier stood with a katana in her hands, putting it back in its sheath.
"And I thought dragon-shifters couldn't get surprised," Kabier said with a big grin on her face. She helped Faasnu up as he said,
"Thanks – I owe you one."
Kabier just chuckled, whispering in his ear, "Hardly, baby."
Faasnu smiled, kissed Kabier briefly, and whispered to her, "Oh, the things you do to get me alone."
The moment of battlefield romance gone, Faasnu and Kabier searched for and found a folder of documents detailing what they were looking for. As they took the folder, Elenwen came in with the other three Stormcloak soldiers.
"Did you find what we came here for?" Elenwen asked.
"We did," Kabier affirmed.
"Command, this is Colonel Faasnu – enemy intel secured," Faasnu said into his radio.
"Affirmative, Colonel," Command responded, "Be advised, General Indari has arrived and is pushing the Necromyans back."
It was as command told Faasnu that General Indari had arrived that two newcomers entered the room – Rikke and Galmar.
"Got here as fast as we could, Colonel," Rikke reported. "Looks like you've been busy."
"Busy would be an understatement," Faasnu commented. He reloaded his rifle and motioned the others to follow him. "Where does the assault stand?" he asked as they exited the CAC center.
"After Indari arrived, the Necromyans began a full retreat; they're headed for the docks," Galmar explained. "The Dominion forces are still resisting our forces, gradually falling back to the docks."
"I think it's safe to say the enemy's on the run," Kabier remarked.
"Let's keep them on the run," Faasnu growled. "On me." Kabier, Elenwen, Rikke and Galmar formed up behind Faasnu and they continued through the streets. What few enemy soldiers that stood their ground were quickly overwhelmed by Faasnu and his team or the combined DMC/Imperial/Stormcloak forces. Faasnu, Kabier, Elenwen, Rikke and Galmar found the enemy command center, already being besieged by allied forces.
"Looks like the Dominion aren't giving the allies an easy time getting into the command center," Rikke commented.
"Let's give the allies a hand," Galmar suggested.
"My sentiments exactly," Faasnu growled. "Grenades; let's blow these bastards to kingdom come." Everyone pulled out a grenade as they approached the enemy fortifications. Faasnu silently counted down from three, and they all primed and threw their grenades, then ducked back down behind cover. The grenades detonated moments later, and sent Dominion troops flying every which way. Faasnu and the team rose from cover, killing off what few stragglers had survived the blasts. As the allied forces moved into the command center, killing all within who resisted, Faasnu and his team moved to the commandant's office. Faasnu kicked the door in, and the Commandant nearly jumped out of his skin. He went for a rifle, and Faasnu didn't even blink as he fired a burst into the commandant's chest. Faasnu walked over, and then put a single round into his head, execution-style.
"Command," he said into the radio, "Enemy Commandant is dead."
"Good work, Colonel Faasnu," came General Indari's voice. "The enemy is retreating by boat to Summerset Isle. Report back to our HQ so we can go over what Intel you've got." Faasnu let loose a long sigh as he headed toward the exit.
"This war is almost over, Colonel," Rikke assured him.
"I know," Faasnu said. "I look forward to the end."
"Don't we all," Kabier chuckled. She looped her arm around his, and they walked onto the transport, headed for the allied HQ...