Spyjirra

You Only Live 18 Times PART 2

CHAPTER 10

Wears-Only-Ropes was seething. After a short orientation with some other new argonian crew members, the Dominion had completed it's trip from the mainland back to it's island cove that functioned as it's home base. It had surfaced with the morning sun and she stepped out of the top hatch with the others, then walked along the back of the ship to where long plank had been lowered from a dock. From there she was given another orientation and assigned to Food Prep, which wasn't even a shipboard duty.

She'd watched from an open mess hut as altmer and argonians came and went from between the ship to a stone building that served as the ship's headquarters. All the while she was skinning vegetables and cutting meat. She knew that what she really should do was to bide her time and learn more about the ship before she struck.

But she couldn't do it. She couldn't wait while the souls of her dead friends were screaming in her mind. Instead, she waited for the earliest opportunity when she planned to sneak aboard and do all the damage she could. If she could sink the thing, that would be best.

During her orientation she'd learned of the color-coded tags the argonians wore around their necks, indicating their duties. She tore her brown tag off.

"Recruit? What are you doing? Put that tag back on!" shouted her superior in the hut, a female certainly younger than herself.

Reluctantly she tied it back around her neck. It felt like a stone. "Dammit, I should be on the ship!"

"Relax. You'll get your chance. But there's a lot to learn before you can do much good aboard the ship. In the meantime the mess hut's as good a job as any you're likely to get while they teach you."

"But I already proved I know as much about ships as any argonian!"

"Not this ship I bet! Now get back to work. Lunch will be soon and we've got a lot of cooking to do before then."

She went back to work, but she would keep a close eye out for any chance.

It came in the early afternoon. An odd alarm began to sound, and the altmer gathered most of the argonians and led them out of the cove. Apparently some sort of security ward had been breached. She watched as the majority of the workers ran out to find the menace, and she noticed there was no one standing guard at the ship.

She took some sauce that was at least approximately the color of the red engineering tags and smeared it over her own tag when her superior had left for a few minutes. Then she walked purposefully down the dock as if she had every right to be there. She climbed down into the ship without a clue what she was going to do. She then took off her tag - at close range it wouldn't stand up to scrutiny anyway.

She passed some argonians, proceeding towards the back of the ship where she knew the propulsion system must be. If there were anything explosive or truly damaging on the ship, that would be the most likely place.

"Stop!" said an altmer voice in Common. "You, female! Where's your tag?"

She turned around with a confused look on her face and mimicked feeling for it. "Sorry, it must have fell off somewhere."

"Who's your boss?"

"I'm in engineering," she said. She knew the altmer were termed the bosses here, but she didn't know them by name yet.

The altmer's eyes narrowed. "Who is your BOSS?" he asked again, hands raising and a blue glow beginning to issue from them.

She was out of time. If she was going to do any good down here at all, it had to be now. She turned and raced through the twin hallways that ran the length of the ship, switching from one to the other, and dropped down the first hatchway to the lower level she came to, not looking back.

Red lights began to flash and a klaxon sounded. She began turning every dial and every valve she could find randomly, but then running on as the altmer and some other argonians came after her. She knew she was approaching a dead end, but maybe she could find something important she could break before she got there.

She saw another argonian ahead, apparently mending a pipe and she grabbed for a large wrench in his back pocket.

For a moment he looked as confused as most of the other crew she'd passed had been, but this one was sharper than most. As she grabbed for the wrench, he spun around and wrapped his tail around her legs, sending her to the floor. She scrambled to get back to her feet, but he was on top of her before she could get leverage. But Wears-Only-Ropes was sea-hardened and desperate. She bit the tail, hard, and heard the argonian scream. She was up in a second, continuing her headlong race to the back of the ship when the spell hit.

As her feet left the ground in the ball of force that now held her, another altmer came up behind he first and she felt the ball disappear as she crashed back to the floor. Another spell hit her instantly, then all went black.

********************************

Ra'Jirra awoke at first light, and left Dar'Amon sleeping while she completed her morning ritual, though the salt water was a rude awakening as she scrubbed her teeth. The Alfiq was still sleeping so she changed back into her bikini. She was adjusting the straps when she noticed he was watching her.

"Good morning, you perv."

The cat smiled guiltily then yawned,"Good morning to you too."

"Think of any plan overnight?" she asked as she began to drag the CATv3 back towards the water, which was blessedly closer with the tide.

"Afraid not. You?"

"Nope. But we haven't much time. The Hammerfell ship will be leaving tomorrow and could well be here tomorrow night. We've got to try something!"

Dar'Amon jumped atop the CATv3 as a wave came up, avoiding getting wet.

She pulled the craft deeper into the water before she got aboard and turned the switch. It came to life and began sputtering as she let it idle.

"I'm going to try circling the island from a long way out. Hopefully we can find where it's at."

"Sounds like a good plan."

"Okay, hold on!"

Dar'Amon tucked himself firmly between her legs and she started off quickly, heading for the island they'd spotted earlier.

She opened it up and they crossed the distance quickly, but remained far enough out to sea that they should be little more than a speck in the ocean to any spying eyes. She backed the speed down and turned to circle counter-clockwise.

"See anything?"

"Nothing yet," Dar'Amon answered.

They continued around the island at roughly the same distance when they rounded a reef. Inside was a cove that was unmistakable even if not for the low form of the ship they saw near a pier. Figures were moving back and forth. Ra'Jirra turned the craft around and retreated back the way they'd come.

"We need to hide the CAT," she said, and Dar'Amon spotted a low shelf of rock jutting out over the water.

"What about underneath that shelf? Should be completely out of sight from the island."

She nodded and steered the craft towards it, finally stepping off into thigh-high water where she moored it to some other rocks.

"Tide?" she asked Dar'Amon.

"It's pretty well high tide now. It will have nowhere to go but down to the level you're standing on, if you're worried about it getting crushed. Just leave enough slack that it can go up and down and it should be fine."

She nodded and tied it off, before taking Dar'Amon and wading out from under the shelf. She came out into the sun carefully, but she could see no one around.

"I think we should split up, Raj," he said as she set him back onto the beach.

The jungle here was dense, but lacked the sulphurous smell of Argonia and she felt it was probably less lethal than the mainland.

"Yeah. You're my secret weapon, Dar. They're altmer so they're bound to have wards up."

"Probably not for my size though. I could go in and scout first."

Ra'Jirra shook her head. "No need. We know where our target is. I'll climb up around the cove and come at it from the other side. Give me an hour to get around, and then come in from the other side."

"Not sure what I can do really, but I'll do what I can," he said and she headed towards the jungle."

The tangle of plants and vines she had to work her way through told her she had been wise to stay in her close-fitting bikini rather than the loose khaki outfit she had kept in her backpack, though a run-in with a bramble bush had left it somewhat tattered by the time she made it to the far side of the cove. She approached carefully, trying to stay near brush or trees where perhaps a ward spell wouldn't notice her.

She was in sight of the ship and the out-buildings when she felt a tingle and a klaxon began to blare.

"Damn. Well, it was bound to happen," she thought. She considered her options, and put the gun back into the backpack which she stuffed under some brush. She certainly did not blend in here, with her yellow fur and white tattered bikini. She would be caught, undoubtedly. But as Geeus had said, the argonians were merely working for the altmer. Killing them would simply be wrong if she didn't have to.

She saw a large contingent of argonians led by a few altmer coming her way from her right. In front was the dock and the ship. She began to run, her knife out. Those searching for her apparently didn't see her as she left the jungle and ran towards the dock, but a large argonian blocked her path.

She slashed at it with her knife, hoping to scare it out of her way, but it didn't budge. Instead it ran right at her and she dodged to the left, feeling a talon snag her top. Her inertia left no alternative. The bikini top snapped and she felt her right breast freed from the constraint.

"Well, modesty be damned, I've got a job to do," she said to herself as she piled headlong into another argonian standing on the ramp to the ship. The argonian fell to the side into the water but Ra'Jirra continued on, fairly leaping down into the doorway.

The interior of the ship was unfamiliar to her, but there was a clamor coming from the stern of the ship, so she headed towards the bow. She saw only one argonian, a female who looked stunned to see a khajiit.

"Sorry snakeskin," she said as she brought the hilt of the knife down hard just behind the base of the Argonian's head.

She hoped she had applied the right amount of force and hadn't killed her, but there was a fine line between the two. Plus, if she accomplished what she hoped to, it would make no difference.

She entered a room that narrowed from front to back and she knew she was near the nose of the ship. Many oddly shaped canisters lined the walls with two tubes projecting out towards her. The canisters had a profile that reminded her of the bullets for her gun, and the flat end of them bore the unmistakable glow of a soul gem.

There was magic here, but it didn't take her long to realize what she was looking at. This was the weapon that had destroyed the ships. These things were some sort of projectile bomb. The logical way to destroy the ship was here. If she could get one of these things to explode, they would doubtless destroy the others as well. The combined explosion would be catastrophic. Of course, she'd be in the middle of it.

She considered her death for a moment. She heard voices approaching, and stopped thinking about it. She unstrapped one of the canisters from the wall and picked it up. It was surprisingly light.

Two argonians approached her, one baring a wicked knife that dwarfed her own. She noticed the other one was rubbing the back of her neck. She felt a little good about that, though if what she planned would work, she would be gone in a moment along with everyone else on this ship.

"Back," she said, lifting the canister over her head. "Or I'll throw this thing with enough force to blow us all to the afterlife." She had just a little hope that she could get the argonians off the ship before she tried it.

The argonian hesitated. Then an altmer came up and she knew she was out of time.

"IDIOT!" the altmer said, trying to get past the two argonians. "She can't..."

And then Ra'Jirra threw the canister as hard as she could at another against the far wall.

It made quite a loud noise, but no explosion came.

"Ha!" the altmer said, though she had seen an instant of panic on his face. Then another argonian came up behind him as the first two backed away.

"Get her Pak-sha, before she does any real damage."

The new argonian was large. Very large. She dropped her knife and held her hands up, but it didn't stop him from coming. He grabbed her roughly and dragged her back out of the ship backwards, with an arm like iron wrapped around her middle. She felt like a sack of potatoes with a tail.

CHAPTER 11

Ra'Jirra was unceremoniously dumped into what appeared to be little better than a broom closet, and the door locked behind her. It was nearly pitch black within, but her eyes soon adjusted to the gloom.

"A khajiit? What are you doing here?" whispered a voice from the gloom, obviously argonian.

"Getting imprisoned it appears. You?" Ra'Jirra answered quietly.

The argonian's head lowered to to her chest. "Failing."

"Well, if you don't mind, I need to do a little clothing alteration. I got my bikini top ripped." Ra'Jirra said and proceeded to tie it back together sufficient for modesty if not fashion. The rest of it was barely hanging together by threads anyway.

"Well, welcome to the Dominion prison. I don't think they really thought they'd ever have to put anyone in here before, or they wouldn't be storing all this stuff in here. And that door isn't reinforced. We could probably pry it open with some of these tools."

"If there weren't a big hulking argonian on the other side. I suspect that will just get you some bruises at best," Ra'Jirra said.

"Oh. It's guarded? I wouldn't know. I was unconscious when they threw me in here. We might as well introduce ourselves. My name is Wears-Only-Ropes. What's your name?"

Ra'Jirra turned to look at the argonian closer. "You are Wears-Only-Ropes? Really?! I was looking for you! My name is Ra'Jirra. I'm an agent of the HMSS from Elsweyr."

"Me? Why?"

"You survived the wreck of the Imperial ship right? At least, that's what the rumor was. Reached us all the way in Elsweyr that there was a survivor. Mostly I wanted to learn what happened, but from what I've since found out, I think I know already."

"Did you come in through the cove? You must have seen that underwater ship."

"Oh yes. Hell, I was in it. Tried to destroy it, but apparently the water-bullets are stronger than I'd hoped."

"You tried to destroy it? When? I did too!"

"Just a few minutes ago I guess. I tried to destroy their powered bombs."

"I went for the engine room in the back. Weapons would have been smarter."

"Yeah, well I accomplished nothing but getting myself thrown in here for all my smarts. Frankly, I'm surprised I'm still alive."

"Me too. They certainly don't need me. But they don't know who I am."

"No? Oh. That could be helpful," Ra'Jirra said and her brain went into action.

"Wears-Only-Ropes, we've got to get you out of here. You are an eyewitness to what happened, and you've seen the underwater ship out there. The Imperials and Hammerfell will listen to you. If we can't destroy that ship, your testimony can still prevent a war and get the two human nations to know who their real enemy is."

Wears-Only-Ropes considered it. "But, I've got to destroy that ship! They killed every friend I had!"

"Let me handle the ship. If you see a chance to get out of here, take it. There's an argonian named Geeus in Archon. Try to find him. He'll get you back to Cyrodiil or wherever you want to go, but they must know what happened. If you did destroy the ship no one will know, and eventually the altmer will just build another. Do you think you could swim all the way to Argonia from here?"

"Ra'Jirra, I'm a sailor. I live at sea. Swimming from here to Argonia would be nothing."

"Then do it."

"If I can get out of here, I will. But how do we do that?"

"I don't know. I have a friend out there that may be able to figure something out, but don't count on it. He has... limited physical ability."

*****************

Hours later, nature reared its ugly head. There were no provisions for them in the room either.

Ra'Jirra knocked on the door. "Excuse me, Mr. Guard sir. We... have needs. Can you at least get us a pot or something?"

She heard no sound from the other side.

"SIR?" she called.

The door opened and a large pot was shoved through the door. Ra'Jirra got a look at the burly argonian's arm. It was as big as her thigh.

"Well, judging by what I saw, we're not getting past him easily," she told Wears-Only-Ropes. "And I don't think we're going to be able to pry that lock free without him noticing."

"Damn. It's not like this is a proper cell anyway. Just a glorified broom closet really."

That started Ra'Jirra thinking. She looked at the ceiling but it was solid rock. One wall was also solid, but the other was just wooden. She looked at Wears-Only-Ropes. "What do you think?"

"Going to take a while, but apparently we have time."

They scrounged around for tools for a little bit, as quietly as they could. Wears-Only-Ropes came up with a stout wire from a bucket handle that she bent back and forth until it broke in two, then they both rubbed one end against the solid floor until they'd fashioned a couple of serviceable gouges. Then they moved a shelf to the other wall and began scratching at one of the wooden planks.

Some time later the door opened and they quickly hid their tools, trusting in the darkness of the room to give them a split second. The argonian said nothing but took the pot out and they heard the lock turn.

"Whew!" Ra'Jirra said, finally breathing again.

"This is going to take an awfully long time," Wears-Only-Ropes said.

"Going anywhere?"

The argonian chuckled and got back to work.

Some hours and two pots later, the door opened again.

"Cat." said their guard.

She looked at Wears-Only-Ropes whose fear was evident, but she slid the wire gouge under a shelf and stood up.

"Come," came the raspy argonian voice.

"Man of few words," Ra'Jirra said, but he grabbed her arm with a vice-like grip and led her out.

"And no sense of humor," she added.

An altmer was in the hallway where she saw a chair had been set up beside the door. She noted the room beside where her 'prison' was. It appeared to be some sort of classroom, large and with windows that looked out on darkness now. If they could get out through the wall, that would afford them a good chance of escape.

The altmer led the way up two flights of stairs and down another hallway to a large room at the end. The altmer opened the door and her guard forced her into the room. She noticed he stayed inside, guarding the door with his body.

Within, another altmer rose from behind a large desk. He wore a uniform that bespoke a high leadership role in the Dominion.

"Well! So it is you. Welcome Ra'Jirra. Won't you sit here? Yes, I know who you are. You've cost us quite a bit recently. And now it looks like you'll cost us one more agent in Rihad. You're not quite as dead as reports say."

Ra'Jirra stepped forward and sat at the seat offered, though she couldn't suppress a smile.

"Let me introduce myself, Ra'Jirra. Sorry, but we don't use our real names. I am Number 4. I've been assigned this little task for the Dominion as you may have guessed."

"Wasn't hard to figure out," Ra'Jirra said with a snarl. "If only you look."

"And yet, your Imperial friends and Hammerfell never look beyond each other's borders. I have a proposal for you, Ra'Jirra. One that might allow you to keep your head on your shoulders."

"A proposal for me? Please, no one here is stupid enough to believe I'm going to help you! Except maybe that guy," she said, thumbing the guard at the door behind her. The argonian could have been made of stone for all the reaction he showed.

"That is unfortunate, but may be true. Did you know, Ra'Jirra, that Hammerfell isn't the only foreign power in talks with your government to switch alliances? What will you do if we should become allies? Will you still remain our adversary?"

Ra'Jirra thought about that. The thought disgusted her, but she knew better than to dismiss the possibility.

"I work for Elsweyr and the Mane. If that should happen..."

The altmer finished for her, "you might find yourself helping us instead of hindering us at every turn! I want to talk to you for a little bit, Ra'Jirra. The khajiit and the altmer may have more in common than you think. I am not one of those racist altmer who believes that no other races are worthy of our respect, you see. In fact, it is my belief that - if your Mane would only think about it - our goals are surprisingly similar."

Ra'Jirra eyed Number 4 warily. "I think not, altmer. We of Elsweyr have honor! We don't murder innocent sailors on the open ocean without so much as a warning or a chance to surrender!"

The altmer's eyes squinted in anger, but soon recovered. "I understand why you would see it that way. If given another alternative, I would agree with you. But perhaps you will see that our choices are limited. Let me show you something."

The altmer cast a spell at a blank wall, which suddenly came to life. It formed a window of sorts, but what she was looking at, she couldn't quite comprehend.

"This, my fine adversary, is the future. What do you see?"

Ra'Jirra looked at the window that was not a window. "You can see into the future? How?!"

"Oh, not I. But we do have scryers who have delivered these images to us. Ra'Jirra, they are absolutely terrifying. I want you to see why. Look closely and tell me what you see, please."

She rose from her chair and stepped towards the wall, putting her hand up against it to verify it was still there behind the moving pictures. The images showed people. Thousands and thousands of people, and vehicles of a type she couldn't comprehend. The buildings around which they walked were tremendous, colossal things that seemed to be built of purest silver or glass.

"What am I supposed to see, altmer? Other that someone's badly imagined nightmare."

"Oh, it's a nightmare all right. And even the scryers admit it's just one of a number of possible futures, depending on actions we take now. But look closer, khajiit. Look at the people."

She looked back towards the wall and squinted. Number 4 did something with his hands and the image zoomed in to a small patch where hundreds of people were walking in different directions. She saw young, old, male and female. Then she noticed it and she took a step back.

"You see it then?" Number 4 said.

"There are no tails."

"No. No tails at all. And no mer ears either if you notice. No green skinned orsimer either. No, Ra'Jirra. There are only humans. Fantastic variety, but still all human."

Ra'Jirra looked at Number 4. He was looking at her intensely as he waved the spell away and the wall returned to normal. She sat back down in the chair, heavily.

"What happened to us?" she asked.

"Wiped out of existence. Completely eradicated. Every argonian, altmer, bosmer, orsimer, dunmer... everyone but humans."

"But... this is only one possibility. Right?" Ra'Jirra said, but her voice trembled with sincerity. If what this altmer was saying was true...

"Yes, Ra'Jirra. But our best estimates say this is a possibility that is getting closer to reality by the day. Ra'Jirra, the humans are good at technology. Damned good. And magic is fading. We altmer are the masters of magic, but we cannot stop it's dissolution. The cause eludes us, though we are certain it has something to do with the gods."

"You're afraid of technology," Ra'Jirra said.

"Of course we are! You should be too. You know Hammerfell is ahead of everyone. This underwater ship we've created wouldn't last two seconds without magic to keep it together. Some of our most powerful mages are here to keep it running. Ra'Jirra, we've got to stop the humans, or at least slow them down till we can approach their abilities. And not just the altmer. Your kind are not great magic users, but you are, more than any other race on Nirn, the most dependent on it."

"Us? We don't use magic!"

"Khajiit, you are magic! How on earth do you think a race can vary from a nearly-human form all the way to the Alfiq - just by moon phases on the birth date? Come on, you are smarter than that. Your very existence depends on magic. Yet you are helping the humans. I know you think we are your enemy, but for once try and think beyond politics and collateral damage."

Ra'Jirra looked at Number 4. She felt her world had been shaken. Could the Dominion be right? She couldn't refute what he'd said.

"I... You give me pause," she said honestly.

"Good. You probably know there's another Hammerfell ship coming tomorrow. It's the only explanation for your hasty and ill-conceived attack on the ship today. We will hold you and your argonian compatriot for just another day until we have completed what needs to be done. Then you will be released. Return to your Mane. Tell your superiors what I have told you. Perhaps cooler heads will prevail...

I know you, Ra'Jirra. I followed your exploits in Rihad with the khajiit cryptologist. The plan to eliminate you was badly planned, poorly executed and frankly a mistake. Those who conceived the plot are no longer with the Dominion. They were misguided and antagonistic towards you personally. That is not the way of the altmer. I cannot deny that we do believe we are superior. It's inherent in our society. But I think we are wrong in that. Each race has superior traits, it is true, but all can share the world. We can share it with the humans too. But if they continue on the path they are on without intervention, the future you saw is inevitable."

Ra'Jirra stood up. "You have given me much to consider, Number 4. My duty to Elsweyr is constant, but it may be that I have misjudged you and your motives. I can promise only that I will think about what you've said. And relay it to my superiors. But the attack on the Hammerfell ship, I cannot condone."

"I understand. It is a thing that should not be necessary. But we believe it is."

"Then I remain your enemy," Ra'Jirra said defiantly. "Until such time as it is pointless."

"It is already pointless. Go on then. Take her back to her cell, Pak-sha."

CHAPTER 12

Dar-Amon looked down at the cove below him as he stood on the edge of the jungle. From this vantage point he could see the whole of the complex of hastily-constructed buildings, the dock, and the underwater ship there. He'd have to remember the layout as best he could, because once he loped down into the area he would be looking at everything from about a foot and a half from ground level, and from that perspective it was easy to get lost.

Though he never said it, that was one of the reasons he tolerated being petted like a true cat. It gave him a better view. Of course, there were other reasons too.

And then the warning alarm went off. Expected really. The altmer were fond of their wards, and to erect a base like this without them would have been more of a surprise. What he could do, he wasn't sure of. His specialty was espionage, sneaking in where unsuspected and eavesdropping were his stock-in-trade.

Then he saw Ra'Jirra race from the jungle on the other side of the cove towards the ship and he decided he had to do something. She was obviously going to get caught or killed - it looked like she was on a suicide mission to blow up the ship. Not much he could do to help her there, he convinced himself. And, to be honest to himself, it didn't sound like much fun. He had his own heroic streak, but the opportunity for an Alfiq the size and shape of a small cat to do anything truly heroic was limited.

Still, if she survived and was imprisoned, maybe he could do something for her there. He started down into the cove at a trot and saw her descend into the ship, with a large contingent of argonians and altmer running after her. If she managed to blow the thing up, it was going to be a terrific explosion, so he kept one of the buildings between him and the ship for protection.

But a few minutes passed and nothing happened, so he peered around the corner and saw her being unceremoniously manhandled by a large argonian and carried bodily towards the large building that was obviously the altmer headquarters. The ship showed no signs of being damaged in any way. Plus, he couldn't help noticing that her bikini bra had been rendered pointless, and he felt a bit ashamed at himself for that.

"Ah well," he decided when she was out of view, "I can't help what I am. I guess I'm on a rescue mission now."

He circled around in the back of the various smaller shacks and buildings towards the main one until it came in sight. Argonians were milling about now, the excitement over, and the routine was getting back to normal. He noticed a tall palm tree beside the headquarters that he could climb. He could leap from there to the roof, then onto one of the balconies on the top floor. If he could catch one with an open door...

Suddenly he felt hands wrap around his abdomen. "Aww! Look at you, little kitten. What are you doing here?"

He looked around at the face of a female argonian. The teeth looked strikingly large and he hoped she was just smiling.

"Skalen, come look!" she said to another argonian nearby. "A kitten!"

The male came close and made as if to pet him. Dar-Amon had to decide quickly if he wanted to fight or go along with the 'Nice Kitty' routine. But circumstances being what they were, he decided to play nice. He started to purr as the male scratched his neck.

"Aww. He's so cute!" said the male. "What are you doing here little fella?"

"Oh Skalen, can we keep him? I've always wanted a pet!"

"Deej, you know what happened last time."

"That was an accident! Oh, look. He's purring. He likes you."

"He is cute. But surely he's somebody else's pet. Somebody must have snuck him over on the ship."

"Well, we can't just let him wander around. It's dangerous for a little kitty out there. If someone owns him, I'm sure they'll be looking for him. We'll just keep him safe till then. Come on, what do you say?"

Dar-Amon began to worry. He'd played the pet many times before. He could handle that. But that bit about it being dangerous worried him in two ways. First, it implied he might be stuck inside or in a cage and not be allowed to roam. But second... dangerous? He'd seen nothing so far to worry about on the island, but he'd just gotten here. Maybe there were cat-eating beasts roaming around out there! And then, of course, there was the question of just what had happened to this female argonian's last pet. It sounded ominous.

"Alright," the male relented. "But you'll have to train him to use a sandbox."

"Oh, I will! You wouldn't shit on the floor, would you little kitty?"

"If it gets me out of your house, hell yes I will!" he thought.

But he played the nice kitty and let her carry him into a small room in a dormitory building. The room had only a bed, door and a window, but the pair of argonians seemed to not mind. After they'd set him up with a sandbox, a blanket for a bed and a pair of bowls for water and food, the male had left to go back to whatever work he was assigned.

The female doted on him for hours though, and he began to get anxious about getting away. He mewled at the door, but she just picked him up and put him in his sandbox.

"No, dammit! I don't have to piss!", he wanted to say. "I want to go outside!"

Finally he gave up though. It was obvious he wasn't going to be let out anytime soon. This female needed some cuddle time, so he did his duty and snuggled up with her. He did rather like the stroking.

"What's your name, little kitty?" she asked as she lounged with him on the bed. "I guess I'll have to give you one!"

Dar-Amon moaned internally. He'd had a spate of names in the time since he'd been turned into an Alfiq. None of them he liked. Most were too cute, some were so obscure that he never did figure out their meaning, and some were just some bad pun. He'd been 'Boots' three times already, but he'd decided 'Chairman Meow' was the worst.

"Whiskers?" she seemed to ask him, and he hissed his displeasure. "No? I know. How about Mekal. It means Fierce Devourer. You tore into that food. Are you a Fierce Devourer?"

He considered that. Yes, he decided. 'Mekal' would do. He rather liked it actually. Besides, he liked the word 'fierce'. He started to purr and pressed his head against her hand.

"Mekal it is then," she decided.

Then she stood up and began to undress, saying, "Now you stay here, Mekal. I've got to get ready. I'm working on the ship tonight and Skalen won't get back for a few hours yet. Will you be alright all by yourself?"

Dar-Amon made a nest for himself on the bed and settled down, cleaning himself while he watched her move about the room. While he preferred his own species, he could still appreciate a finely-tuned female argonian figure too, and Deej was a prime example of her race. He purred. Sometimes his job had its perks.

An hour later she left, closing the door behind her and Dar-Amon was left alone. "Finally!" he said aloud, disregarding the fact that he hadn't even attempted to leave while she was dressing.

He looked up at the window. It was open, but screened. At least it was inset into the wall so if he could manage to get to it, he would have a place to sit and work on that screen. The daylight was waning and there were no lights in the room. He judged the distance. This wasn't going to be easy. He leaped.

He was shy of the distance by no more than an inch, landing back on the tile floor gracefully. He tried again, this time with a bit of a running start. He almost managed to get a claw on the ledge before he tumbled back to the floor.

Once more. Same result.

"Damn," he said. "So close..."

He looked around the room. There was the wardrobe where Deej had got her clothes, but that was far too big and heavy for him to budge. Then there was the laundry basket where she'd put her old clothes. He tried pushing it, but it didn't move either. There were a lot of clothes in there. The blanket might work, if piled up, but it was pretty heavy for a cat too. Other than that, there just wasn't much to work with here.

And then he realized what he had to do. He looked back at the basket and looked within. Yes, it would probably work, but he'd have to get everything out of it by hand first. Well... by mouth.

He swallowed his pride and jumped into the basket, then back out with the argonian's bra in his mouth. This was going to take a while...

When he was done, there was a pile of clothes on the floor, both feminine and masculine. The pair obviously shared this room. But the job was done and it was time to try to flip the basket. He jumped onto the edge and the basket rolled out from under him, skittering across the floor. The second attempt worked better, but he ended up underneath it. For a second he was worried he'd be stuck here, but the basket was light and he managed to pry a claw underneath it and scurry out from under it. Then he nosed it towards the window until it was just underneath. With a running start, he jumped from the floor to the basket and immediately up to the window sill.

"Yes!" he cried, though keeping his voice down. By now, night had come on in full and he heard voices outside the window. Fortunately he was on the ground floor. Then he began working on the screen.

It was made of a metallic grid. Fuck.

The strands were small, but not easily torn with claws. He extended his own and looked at them, then back at the screen. This was going to take a while, he realized. Too long. The male would surely be back before he even came close.

"Oh well," he sighed to himself. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Then he got to work, concentrating on a single strand near the bottom of the screen, so it wouldn't be obvious when the argonians returned. He'd managed to get three strands cut before the door opened again.

"Well hi there Kitty!" said the voice of Skalen and he withdrew his claws as the argonian picked him up off the sill and sat him back on the floor, up-righting the basket and putting the clothes back in.

"Smart little guy, aren't you?" he said.

Dar-Amon meowed.

CHAPTER 13

It was well after dark when Deej finally returned. Dar-Amon had actually made a little more progress on the screen as the male argonian had put him back in the window when he kept mewling towards it. However, he had to be careful not to alert him to what he was doing.

The two argonians greeted each other with a hug and Deej took Dar-Amon off the window and he let her pet him for awhile as the two settled into their bed for the night.

Skalen patted the bed beside him, asking his mate, "How did work go?"

"Busy. They expect to go out again tomorrow afternoon so we've been prepping the ship both inside and out. Some crazy argonian tried to sabotage her, and they said something about a khajiit that tried to do the same thing. Can you believe it? We had to go through every damn system making sure all the valves and controls were back in their proper place. It was a mess!"

"Oh, I heard! We had a new group of recruits in to to do ballast training and they were all talking about it. She came over with them, but they didn't know her. The altmer seem to think she and the khajiit are working for Elsweyr."

"I sure hope not! That would mean they know about the ship! We're supposed to be secret. If word gets out we'll probably all be out of a job."

"I know."

"Say Skalen, do you ever wonder what they're doing when we're out at sea? They never let the crew see anything. Just order us around."

"Oh, I've wondered plenty. Those tubes they launch seem to be the main purpose. And you say the whole ship vibrates afterwards?"

"Oh yeah! Violently! I thought she was coming apart! One of the compartments completely filled with a burst bulkhead before the argonians inside managed to patch it and pump out the water. If there were any altmer in there at the time, they'd be drowned. It was a huge shake to do that, I promise you! I still think it was some sort of explosion."

"Well, they never told us that we'd know all their secrets. Still glad we joined?"

Deej crawled on top of Skalen and they touched tongues. "As long as I can live with you here, I'm fine."

Dar-Amon decided now might be a good time to return to his blanket-bed and he padded off across the floor, unnoticed.

"Yeah. Me too. But this may not last forever."

"Don't say that. You'll jinx it."

"I hope you're right, but if we ever get pregnant, we should go back to the Hist anyway."

Deej wrapped her tail around her mate's tail tightly. "That would be awfully nice. Wanna try again?"

"Forever I want to!" Skalen smiled and she snuffed out the candle with her fingers deftly.

Dar-Amon had been watching, fascinated. The biologist in him was suddenly alert. While argonian bodies had been prodded and examined plenty, as far as he could tell, no one of any other race had ever actually seen argonians copulate - and the argonians wouldn't talk about it.

Though the candle was out, and the room was certainly dark to any human or argonian eyes, his khajiit eyes had plenty of light from the moonbeams coming in through the window. They might as well have been kissing under direct sun to the gaze of a khajiit. And if he might have some not-quite-so-pure reasons to watch them as well, he still convinced himself he wasn't being some common voyeur. He was doing it for science!

Two hours later, the argonians finally parted for the last time - Skalen rolling back to lie beside Deej on the bed.

"Damn, Deej. You were fantastic! Something gotten into you?"

"Just you, Skal. Just you. Maybe if you let me have a pet more often, you'd get more of this!"

"Lady, I don't think I could take much more of you! I swear I felt you up to my chest!"

"Heh. Same! I could feel you under my scales. I bet one of us is pregnant this time!"

"I almost hope not. I want to do that again tomorrow night."

"Hell with tomorrow night, I'll wake you up in the morning!"

"I dare you!" he said and leaned over her.

The two argonians opened their mouths wide to apply their tongues to each other's, before professing their mutual love. A few minutes passed, then Deej nudged Skalen.

"Skalen?"

"Yeah?" he replied sleepily.

"I think something's wrong with Mekal."

"The cat? Why?"

"Look at him. Does that look right to you?'

Skalen slid over his mate and lit the candle again.

The cat was backed up against a wall, shivering, his eyes wide and staring at the two.

"Aww. Poor thing. I think we scared him. Come 'ere Mekal. Come on, I won't hurt you."

The cat's eyes just stared at him, as if the mind behind them was completely blasted by something he'd seen.

"Silly cat," Deej said, and stood up. The cat's eyes kept staring at her lower body for some reason. She picked up the shivering cat. It didn't resist, and it began to calm down after she'd talked to it softly for a while. Skalen returned to the bed, but Deej sat up with the cat long into the night, singing it argonian lullabies until finally it went to sleep between her breasts.

***********************************************

"Ropes... wake up," Ra'Jirra whispered.

The argonian shifted a little, and Ra'Jirra had to nudge her.

"Mmm?"

"Your turn. I'm tired."

Wears-Only-Ropes got up off the blankets that their captors had thrown in and groggily traded places with the khajiit.

"Oh!" she whispered when she'd seen the work Ra'Jirra had done. "You've almost got it loose!"

"Almost," Ra'Jirra yawned. "Wake me when you've finished it. I've got to get some sleep."

"You let me sleep longer, didn't you?"

"Yeah. A little. If we manage to get out of here in the morning, you're going to need energy to get away."

"That was foolish, but I thank you anyway, Ra'Jirra."

"Don't mention it. Just get that damned plank loose. I'm tired of looking at it."

The guard had come in a few times, with food and drink as well as to change out the pot, but he fortunately hadn't been interested in looking about the place and left as soon as he'd accomplished his task. Wears-Only-Ropes tried to talk to him, but he didn't say a word even in Jel.

"Well," Ra'Jirra thought to herself as she fell to sleep, "At least we'll have a way out before too long."

She never really had much hope of the Alfiq rescuing them. In fact, she was more worried for him. He was a pretty small khajiit, after all. Maybe some kind argonian took him in. The world could be a dangerous place for a little cat like him.

CHAPTER 14

"If I could risk kicking it," Wears-Only-Ropes said to Ra'Jirra,"I'm sure it would give way."

"Yeah, but I'm sure that guard would hear it."

"Not much of a guard. Hell, he might not even be there for all we know."

"True, but I'd rather not risk it. Maybe a thunderstorm will come up or something."

"It is pretty common in the afternoons around here. Can we wait that long?"

"I don't think so actually. My best guess is that the Hammerfell ship will be coming along before then. Hell, I don't even know what time it is without any windows in here."

Wears-Only-Ropes nodded. "Yeah, I think we need to..."

And then an alarm went off. It wasn't the same sound as the klaxon that had gone off when Ra'Jirra had tripped a ward though. The two looked at each other, and Ra'Jirra nodded.

Wears-Only-Ropes waited till the siren was at its peak, then kicked. The plank they'd been working on bent outwards, but made no significant sound at all.

"Dammit, we could have done that an hour ago!" Wears-Only-Ropes complained, but Ra'Jirra was already poking her head through the space.

"No one here, and the doors closed. Come on!" she said as she wriggled through.

Her bikini caught for a moment, doing yet more damage to the frayed garment, but she made it to the other side and helped Wears-Only-Ropes squeeze through. The door had no window, so they couldn't see what was happening in the hallway outside, but they heard shouting and feet running past. Ra'Jirra risked a peak through the outside windows. Argonians were running in the direction of the dock, though. She waited till they'd passed, then unlocked the latch and slid the window up as quietly as possible.

"Are you thinking what I am?" Ra'Jirra asked Wears-Only-Ropes.

"The Hammerfell ship has been spotted," she said.

"I think so too," Ra'Jirra nodded. "Okay. Go through the jungle and swim to Argonia as fast as you can. I don't think I can stop the ship directly, but I'm going to see what I can do with the CAT. I might be able to drop a mine on it before it goes deep."

"The CAT?"

"No time to explain. It's a very fast little boat I moored on the other side of the cove. It has shallow water timed mines made to stop pursuers, but they don't go deep. Come on, there's no time for this."

Wears-Only-Ropes put her hands on the khajiit's shoulders and looked at her seriously.

"Ra'Jirra, I'm going with you."

"Dammit, no! Even if I fail, you can still stop a goddamned war! I'm just an Elsweyr agent. Nobody would believe me!"

"We're going to stop that ship before it kills more sailors, Ra'Jirra. You AND me."

"Fuck it, I haven't time to argue, Ropes. Damned if I know what good you can do, but let's get the hell out of here."

They climbed out of the window and peered around the wall of the building. All the action was at the ship. They sneaked back the other way and then raced through the jungle towards the CAT as fast as they could.

The alarm stopped as they crossed over the hill and descended towards the open sea where she hoped the CAT still waited. It took her a few minutes to find her way back to the rock shelf, and she lost the bikini bottom totally when it scraped against the side, but she had no time to worry about that.

The CAT was still floating where she'd left it.

"Okay Ropes. Here's how you can help. Under the seat is where the mines are. They are set to go off 15 seconds after I drop them, but there's a dial on top where you can change that. If we can get in front of the ship, make an estimate of how long the mine should wait before it goes off based on our speed and the speed of the ship and set the timer, then set it back into the rack and tap my shoulder and I'll launch it. We only have four, so we don't have a lot to work with. Better to take a little time and get the estimate right first. Got it?"

Wears-Only-Ropes took out one of the mines and examined it, then put it back on the rack under the seat. "Got it."

Wears-Only-Ropes cut the rope holding the CAT to the rock, pocketing it. Ra'Jirra was going to ask why she did that, but she'd already fired up the engine and had no time.

"Hold on tight, Ropes!" she called. "This thing MOVES!"

She felt the argonian's grip around her waist. Good. Nice and firm.

Then they were off and sailing across the waves, gaining speed rapidly. Once at full speed, the G-forces leveled out and she felt the argonian's hands release her waist. She was doing something with the rope back there, but Ra'Jirra had no time to worry about it. She was looking towards the sea. On the horizon, she saw the Hammerfell ship.

Then they passed around the corner of the cove and saw the Dominion. It was already under way and she turned towards the open ocean to intersect it's path. There were three Almer on a raised tower that hadn't been there before, apparently piloting the ship. They were looking out to sea towards the Hammerfell ship and hadn't spotted her yet. The Dominion was fast, but no where near what the CAT was doing.

Then Wears-Only-Ropes tapped her shoulder and she turned around.

"LOOK! IN THE COVE!"

Ra'Jirra shifted to look directly behind them. Hundreds of argonians were rising out of the ocean into the complex. Too many to have been Dominion employees. She smiled. She couldn't be certain from this distance and with the motion of the CAT, but one of them looked an awful lot like Geeus.

But she had no time to worry about that. She was almost in the path of the Dominion. She turned back and saw that on her current course she would intersect very near the bow of the ship. She turned right slightly to end up farther in front of it.

Then she heard the crack of a rifle. She'd heard that before. She didn't see where the bullet hit, nor how close it was to the CAT. It had obviously missed, but there would be more. Wears-Only-Ropes was unaware of the danger of course. Rifle and gun technology had a long way to go before it became mainstream. Her own gun was in the storage compartment, but with the amount of motion of the CAT, she didn't even bother.

"SET THE FIRST MINE!" she called as she turned the CAT farther right, now directly in the path of the ship.

"15 SECONDS LOOKS ABOUT RIGHT!"

"OKAY, HERE GOES!"

Ra'Jirra pulled the mine release lever, then hit the accelerator and turned sharply left out of the path and away from the Dominion. She looked behind her. One of the Altmer was doing something with the rifle, so she began turning randomly as she sped away.

And then the mine went off, raising a tower of water from where it floated just a foot under the water. However, she saw the Dominion plow through the explosion without slowing. Then it veered towards it's right, farther away from her.

The Altmer may have taken another shot, but if he did, it must have missed. But now the Dominion was heading away from her, so she turned back to intercept it again.

She risked a glance towards the Hammerfell ship. With it's own speed heading towards them, ad their speed heading towards it, it had already become much more than a dot on the horizon.

Wears-Only-Ropes yelled in her ear, "Look! The altmer are going inside!"

She nodded. Damn. The thing was going to submerge. She had to get to it before then!

She turned and headed at full speed again directly to where she estimated it would be by the time she got back to it. She saw it was slowly going under the water, but she'd gotten too far away from it. She wasn't going to make it.

As she got back to it's path, all but the tower was underwater and the tower was sinking fast. She slowed the CAT.

"We can still hit the tower!" Wears-Only-Ropes said, a mine in her hand.

She put her hand over the argonians'. "No, Ropes. It wouldn't cause enough damage. Put it back. We've got to hit it on the nose so the explosives inside go up. Otherwise they'll just take it back and repair it."

"But, we can't just let it go!!!"

Suddenly they heard a new sound. A ominous whirring coming from underwater. The Dominion was passing directly underneath them now, dark underneath the sea.

"What the hell is that?" Ra'Jirra said, looking at Wears-Only-Ropes.

The argonian's eyes were wide. "A sea-arrow! They've shot a sea-arrow at the Hammerfell ship already!"

Ra'Jirra turned back towards the other ship. It was still a good distance away, but there was an odd white line heading towards it at high speed.

"HOLD ON!" she screamed and pulled the throttle. Wears-Only-Ropes had managed to get one hand around her, just enough to stop inertia from tearing her off the CAT.

Then they were at full speed racing towards the speeding sea-arrow. It was fast, but the CAT was faster still. They were fairly flying from wave to wave and they passed directly over the sea-arrow. They could see it's shape, barely underwater, but Ra'Jirra continued on aiming for the Hammerfell ship.

"LAUNCH THE MINE!" Wears-Only-Ropes called over her shoulder.

Ra'Jirra pulled the lever a second time. It could have been no more than three seconds afterwards that the mine exploded, and with it, the sea-arrow as Wears-Only-Ropes had dubbed it, but the explosive in the arrow was incredible. The CAT flew high through the air, but Ra'Jirra didn't notice. She was flying in the opposite direction. She had no idea where Wears-Only-Ropes was.

She hit the water hard and came up gasping for air, looking around. She was not a bad swimmer, but now she was alone in an ocean that suddenly looked incredibly big. Yards away, she saw the CAT, still sputtering and amazingly upright. She started swimming towards it when powerful hands grabbed her waist and she began to sail through the water like a fish.

She looked back and saw Wears-Only-Ropes underwater but swimming hard back to the CAT. She climbed up on it and the argonian climbed up behind her. However, her shirt was gone. In its place, Wears-Only-Ropes wore her namesake. The rope from the CAT was now fashioned into a bra of sorts, but it was a quite long length of rope and it curled around her breasts and chest with knots and crossbacks that couldn't have been easy to fashion. The argonian was obviously skilled in creating such a "garment", if that word even worked.

Ra'Jirra thought momentarily about how impressive Ropes would be to an S&M aficionado. "Nice," she said.

"Better water-dynamics," she explained hastily. "I can swim faster this way."

"You know, between your pants and my bikini top, we make one fully dressed person."

"And one not-so-much," Wears-Only-Ropes laughed, but then her eyes focused on something beyond Ra'Jirra and she pointed back towards the island.

"ANOTHER ARROW!"

"Goddammit!" Ra'Jirra cried but was off again.

The Hammerfell ship was already getting damn close, though it was turning aside after having seen the explosion. The crew were probably getting some great views of her and Ropes too, but she had no time to worry about that. Another white line was speeding their way and the big Hammerfell ship didn't look like it was going to get out of the way fast enough.

CHAPTER 15

Dar-Amon awoke to pandemonium. An alarm was sounding and he was rudely thrown from his place between Deej's breasts as the two argonians rushed to get ready. Dar-Amon remained safely out of the way in a corner as they scurried to-and-fro. In less than two minutes, they were both out the door, leaving Dar-Amon to blink at the sudden silence.

He thought briefly about the night before. Already his subconscious was trying to make him forget the unimaginable horror that was argonian sex, and he shivered again involuntarily at the thought, but refused to remember what he'd seen. Whether she knew it or not, Deej's gentle treatment of him afterwards had allowed him to return to sanity and the ability to tolerate close proximity to their race again.

"No good will come from thinking of that," he said aloud at the silence. Outside he heard the sound of many other argonians rushing about. A few minutes later and he'd managed the basket trick again and was back on the ledge. By then, no argonians were in sight but he heard quite a lot of noise from somewhere by the beach. He had to get out, and quickly!

He worked another thread loose and tried to shove his head through. It was close, but not quite. He worked at the next thread of he screen as fast as he could. Finally it broke and he SQUEEZED his head through, scrabbling with his claws on the window sill to get more grip. Another thread popped and he was through, falling unceremoniously to the ground outside. He shook his dignity back into place and loped towards where all the activity was - mostly near the dock but also farther out by the beach.

He'd never seen so many argonians in one place. An involuntary shiver ran through him. All those scaly bodies writhing over and around each other...

"NO! They're just talking!" he shouted to himself, recovering from his imagination.

They seemed to be arguing with each other, but he saw that the Dominion had already set sail. Then he also noticed there wasn't an altmer in sight. He nudged his way into the center of the crowd, and noticed Deej and Skalen were part of the outer crowd as well.

Inside an old argonian was talking loudly, answering others.

"No! They are not our friends. Listen, I don't care how well they've treated you, they are killing other sailors with that ship!"

"But not argonians!" shouted another nearby.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. The other ships have many argonians on them! They may be from Hammerfell, but they're manned by all races, and argonians are a majority of those!"

"And besides," said a voice Dar-Amon recognized. "Since when do we kill other races anyway? That is not the way of the Hist!"

"Well, we're not killing them. We're just... letting them kill each other!"

"Not," said the elder, "if we're helping them with this ship. And besides, do we really want another race to take over this island? True, it's not Argonia, but there are lots of small islands all round us. If the other races take over all those islands, they can easily attack us after they've built up their forces."

That, Dar-Amon realized, was a good tactic. Self-defense of their homeland was a prime motivating factor for argonians. The murmuring in the crowd took on an ominous tone.

Geeus' voice came back then. He obviously had already made the assumption that the crowd was now with him. "It is not enough that we run the almer off the island either. We must destroy this entire facility. Go back to your rooms and get your belongings and bring them back to the beach. Then we must destroy."

"What do we do with the altmer? Most of them are on the ship, but there's still some hiding in the buildings and around the island."

"We are not killers, and they have magic. Let them know we are here only to destroy what they've built, not them. If they attack you though, call for help. They will fall to our numbers, magic or not. If we keep them from building on this island, they will leave on their own. We made a mistake in letting them take this island. We must fix that mistake."

A cheer went up, and even Deej and Skalen joined in, he saw. Deej looked down and saw him. She picked him up. "Mekal! What are you doing here? You're going to get stepped on!"

The argonians were splitting up, going back to gather their belongings.

"Well," Deej said to Skalen. "It was good while it lasted."

The male put his arm around his mate. "We'll do alright Deej. We'll find another place."

She nodded, and looked at Skalen and kissed him, in the argonian manner. "Yes, we will."

Suddenly someone came running up to them. "Excuse me. Ma'am? Um... that's my cat."

Deej looked at the new argonian and Dar-Amon saw Geeus when she turned her body around.

"Awwww!" she cried. "Really?"

"Sorry Ma'am. Yes. I... really need him."

The two argonians looked at each other sadly.

"Look," Geeus began, "when you get back to the mainland, look me up. Name's Geeus. I'll get you another cat, okay?"

Skalen nodded. "We will. Thanks. They're hard to find in Argonia."

Geeus took Dar-Amon and retreated behind a building.

"What happened?" they both said at once, as soon as they were alone.

"Well," Dar-Amon started, "Ra'Jirra got captured trying to sink the ship. I think she is a prisoner somewhere in that big building. I got caught by those two though and have been trying to get away ever since."

Geeus shook his head. "She's not a prisoner. We saw her on the CAT heading after the Dominion, along with an argonian. I think it was Wears-Only-Ropes but I can't be sure. As for me, once I explained the situation to the elders, they gathered every able-bodied argonian around for miles. We swam all the way across and got here just as the Dominion was leaving. But I think we got here in time to keep most of the argonians out of the ship."

"So, it's manned only by the altmer?"

Geeus shrugged. "I don't know really. We argonians are a very family-oriented lot though. When your mother is yelling at you to get out of the ship, we tend to do exactly that no matter what the altmer are threatening."

"Are you serious? Their mothers?!"

"Well, some at least."

"Good thing the altmer didn't fight back."

"They're not that stupid. We would swarm the place and rend them limb-from-limb if they tried. They probably would have if we hadn't outnumbered them."

"You've done a good thing here, Geeus. You've definitely shut down this operation. But if Ra'Jirra and Wears-Only-Ropes don't managed to protect that Hammerfell ship, a war between Cyrodiil and Hammerfell is still likely. Once a war starts, even if we can prove it was caused by the Aldmeri Dominion, it's a hell of a thing to try and stop."

Geeus nodded and they both looked out from behind the building. Already a stack of belongings from the argonians was growing, and one of the buildings was burning as the argonians began their destruction of the base. Others were dismantling the dock as they watched. But out to sea, the Hammerfell ship had sailed out of sight beyond the cove to the right and the little CAT was nowhere to be seen.

"Come on Dar," Geeus said, offering his hand to the Alfiq. "Lets get to the other side of the cove and see what's happening out there."

Dar'Amon jumped aboard the proffered hands and Geeus began running across the cove.

They'd just topped a ridge and spotted the Hammerfell ship under full sail and turning aside when a tremendous explosion was seen and the ground shook, knocking Geeus to the ground and sending Dar-Amon rolling across the sandy ground. Dar-Amon looked up to see a tower of water far out to sea where the Hammerfell ship had been. The tower resolved into a sort of cloud on the surface of the ocean, blocking view of anything within.

Dar-Amon looked to Geeus, who looked back at him, a worried expression on his scaled face.

"Damn," Dar-Amon said. "God DAMMIT."

"I guess we should get back to Elsweyr as soon as we can," Geeus said mournfully, the whole island now gone silent in the wake of the explosion. "It will take some time before Hammerfell learns of this. Maybe our story can help."

Dar-Amon nodded, still staring out to sea. "I suppose so."

Geeus picked up the little Alfiq and headed back towards the cove.

**********************

Inside the Dominion, Number 4 wasn't worried. True, the altmer that now manned the ship were woefully incompetent at actually doing the work that the argonians had been trained for, but they had plenty of time. As he watched through the periscope, he had to give the spunky khajiit respect for having managed to stop two of his torpedoes. But he had plenty more and it was obvious that the mines she'd wielded were only the surface type, and she couldn't have many aboard that little craft.

"How long before the tubes are flushed?" he called to the Captain.

"Dammit, I don't know. I'll get down there and clear them myself if I have to! XO, what is the status of the tubes!?" he called down a voice-pipe.

"It's slow, Skipper. We haven't the muscles of the argonians. Pumping the water out is taking longer than expected. Another 15 minutes and we should be done."

The Captain began to relay the update to Number 4, who shut him up.

"I heard the man, Captain," he said impatiently. Then he turned to his bodyguard. Pak-Sha had been the only argonian who hadn't left the ship when their damn relatives came ashore. He, at least, was completely loyal.

"Pak-Sha, get down there and help them with those pumps. Show them what real argonian muscle can do!"

The argonian nodded and began climbing down the ladder while Number 4 returned to his periscope. The Hammerfell ship was moving away, but that really made no difference. They could easily catch up once their weapons were functional again. Then he swung the periscope around to look for Ra'Jirra. But she was no longer where he'd last seen her. He spun the periscope farther around and his eyes went wide. She was practically on top of the periscope and the argonian with her was doing something.

Suddenly he realized what he was seeing and screamed. "PAK-SHA! STOP! NEW ORDERS!!!"

CHAPTER 16

Ra'Jirra and Wears-Only-Ropes raced towards the oncoming water-arrow at breakneck speed. Wears-Only-Ropes did a quick mental guess and set the timer for 5 seconds. Meanwhile Ra'Jirra struggled to keep the craft on-course against the waves that kept crashing into them. Then she felt the tap at her shoulder and pulled the lever, turning out of the path of the arrow a split second later but continuing at full speed away. The arrow passed directly beneath them in a flash. She didn't turn around, but heard the explosion go off behind her.

She held tight to the controls and felt the CAT go airborne, but she hung on and she felt the strong hands of Wears-Only-Ropes manage to keep wrapped around her as they hit the waves hard upon their return. Only then did she slow and turn back.

"Good job, Ropes," she said, breathing hard. "But we've only one more mine, and we can't waste it on another arrow."

"I know, Raj. And I know what I have to do. You don't need to tell me. If I hold the timer, will it stop, or does launching the mine start the timer where it's set?"

"I don't know, Ropes. I really don't."

"Well, we've not much choice, I guess. I'll set it for 60 seconds, you launch it, then I'll dive in after it. But damned if I know where that goddamn ship is. It's dark under there Raj. I may not find it at all."

Ra'Jirra looked back towards where the two water-arrows had come from, and headed back that way.

"Why haven't they launched another one already?" Wears-Only-Ropes asked.

"When I was in the ship, there were two big tubes. My guess is it takes them a while to reset those for another shot. I've no idea how long, but Ropes, there are lots of arrows inside there."

The argonian nodded. "When I'm off, you get the hell out of here. If this works, there's going to be an explosion like nothing any of us have ever seen, Raj."

Ra'Jirra slowed the CAT to a halt, guesstimating she was roughly over where the Dominion might be. Then she hugged Wears-Only-Ropes.

"If I..." she started, but the argonian just hugged her back, then drew her away by the shoulders.

"You couldn't get close, Ra'Jirra. No, this is what I'm here for. I knew it when I followed you."

"I'll tell them about you, Ropes. You won't be forgotten."

Argonian's didn't exactly cry, but Ra'Jirra saw the nictitating membranes flashing.

"Do that, Ra'Jirra. And tell them about my crew. I was just one of them. They all would have done this."

Ra'Jirra hugged her once more. "You are their avenging angel, Ropes. Good luck!"

Wears-Only-Ropes pulled away from her again and took the last mine out, setting the timer for the 60 second maximum, then put it back on the rack.

"Wait!" Ra'Jirra said when she turned back around. "Do you see that?"

Wears-Only-Ropes followed where she was pointing. Some hundreds of yards away, something glinted with the distinctive color of Dwemer metal.

They looked at each other.

"That's it," Wears-Only-Ropes declared. "The Dominion must be under there."

"Hold on!" Ra'Jirra said, and spun the craft to face the shining object sitting stationary above the waves.

"Don't forget what I said, Raj. You get the hell away!" Wears-Only-Ropes called over her shoulder.

"I will, Ropes. You go take care of that thing."

A minute later and Ra'Jirra shouted back. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

Ra'Jirra slowed to a stop and pulled the lever. She heard the mine splash behind her, now armed. Wears-Only-Ropes followed it. She saw the argonian grab the mine and begin swimming deep. Then she hit the throttle and began flying away from the spot, aiming roughly for where the Hammerfell ship was sailing away at full speed.

***************************

Underwater, Wears-Only-Ropes saw the thin tube of Dwemer metal going straight down into the depths. It would take her more than a minute to reach the Dominion, and she sincerely hoped the timer wasn't running as she held the dial at the 1 minute mark. If it was running internally, she'd never know it. She would be blown to bits when it went off. She could only trust in luck there.

As she continued downwards, she lowly saw the huge shape of the Dominion loom out of the depths below. It could be nothing else. She stuffed the mine into her pants and redoubled her efforts, fighting against her natural buoyancy. She was just getting close when she saw another figure coming around from the bottom of the ship. It was another argonian, and she recognized him as the big guard. In his mouth, he held a wicked looking knife and he was coming fast.

But she couldn't simply swim away. She might well be faster through the water than him, but the Dominion might get under way at any moment. Instead, she turned to face him.

Fighting underwater, even for argonians, was a hard business. All movements were terribly slow compared to in the open air. But she was both a sailor and an argonian. It wasn't her first time. She avoided his attempts to cut her with the knife, but soon it was clear she was getting nowhere, and time was not her friend here.

Then he closed on her, wrapping an arm around her neck. She saw the hand with the knife descend and grabbed it, turning it towards her mouth where she bit the arm, hard. Very hard. She felt bones crunch between her teeth and she wrenched at it with the strength of an alligator, rolling in the deep.

She heard another noise then. Not the screaming of her assailant, though that reached her clearly enough. No, this was coming from the Dominion. She kicked the maimed argonian away from her and saw the hand, severed now, fall into the depths below along with the knife. Then she turned back to the ship. She saw a port sliding slowly open in the nose of the thing, and recognized that it must be the aperture of one of the arrow-tubes. They were going to launch another at any moment.

Suddenly she had an inspiration. She might not have the time, but it was the best chance she had. Rapidly she untied the ropes around her chest and swam up to catch the argonian who was trying to escape to the surface. She wrapped the rope around him rapidly, and trussed him tightly, hauling him back to the Dominion all the while.

The arrow hadn't launched yet. She manhandled the argonian, forcing him into the tube and rapidly tying the ropes around the portal's edge, trapping him within. Then she pulled the mine out of her pants and checked the timer. It had only a few seconds left, so she cranked it back to 60 seconds, then thrust it deep down into the argonian's own pants, knowing he was tied far too well to get it out in time.

"Goodbye, Pak-Sha," she said, waving before she swam away as fast as she could, upward and back away from the nose of the ship. She knew any hope of survival was pointless at this range, but she couldn't help but hope. Still, she felt okay. She'd done her job. In a few seconds it would be over anyway, and she wanted to at least be sure the bulk of the Dominion was between her and the mine when it went off.

In fact, the mine alone would still not have breached the hull of the Dominion, even if placed directly on it. But the torpedo tube was a weak point when it's hatch was open as it was now. Even then, the Dominion may have survived had it not been for the armed torpedo that was awaiting launch inside it.

But the combination made the outcome inevitable. The mine went off. In milliseconds, its explosion caused the destruction of the armed torpedo within the tube. In turn, the torpedo's explosive power was well beyond the small mine. The nose of the Dominion expanded outwards under the incredible power of the torpedo. But even that was dwarfed when the other torpedoes held within the ship joined the explosion. And all this happened within a single second. Not a single soul aboard the Dominion even had time to register alarm. Only Number 4 had any clue they were in any danger, and he was blind, unable to see what was happening just outside the ship. His periscope only viewed the surface above the water. His last seconds were spent watching the naked rear of that damned khajiit, speeding away at top speed, her tail waving in the wind. And then all within were snuffed out before a single nerve could register the explosion.

CHAPTER 17

Ra'Jirra sat atop the CATv3, motionless in the fog that surrounded her after the explosion. It still had a little power, but there was no sense in using it when she had no idea which direction was which. Instead, she waited for the fog to clear. Before too long she was able to see blue sky above her as the fog thinned, and not long afterwards it blew away completely.

Somewhere behind her the Dominion lay at the bottom of the ocean, and with it her friend's remains too. Probably not far from where her own crew members' bodies lay. She tried not to think about that too much. Ropes had known it was a one-way mission. Still...

She saw the Hammerfell ship off to one side. She was very happy to see it was still under sail, even happier to see it was turning back towards her. She waved to it and got the CAT running again, but it sputtered out completely before she had gone a few yards. So she sat waiting while the big ship slowly wound its way back to her. Apparently its engine was no longer running, so it was relying on the time-tested method of sails and wind.

It slowed as it approached, and some argonians leaped over the side to swim to her.

"Khajiit?" said the first to emerge from under the water.

"Er... hello?"

"Bring her aboard!" called a man from high above them, and the argonian towed her towards the large ship, sending her around to scale a rope ladder up the side.

Ropes were lowered and fastened around the CAT as other sailors drew it out of the water and onto the deck.

As she climbed over the railing, a phrase came to her when she saw the Captain of the ship standing nearby looking at her.

"Permission to come aboard, Sir!" she called out clearly.

The Captain nodded to her, and a smile broke over his face at the pleasantry. "Permission granted. You find yourself aboard the Hammerfell ship "Cutter", khajiit. I am Captain Spenglor. Whom am I addressing?"

"I am Ra'Jirra, with His Mane's Secret Service, Sir. I must beg your pardon for being so inadequately dressed for such an occasion though." she said, covering her lower region. "It's been a long day."

Chuckles were heard from around the deck, and she looked around at the crew. Primarily Hammerfell natives obviously, but they had their contingent of Argonians too - as had all large ships.

An officer wrapped his jacket around her which she gratefully accepted, though she couldn't help but feel the breeze in lower places, where breezes weren't supposed to be felt.

"Please then Ra'Jirra, step into my quarters where we can talk. I have many questions, but I think we all gathered a fair idea of what went on out there. If I don't miss my guess, you saved this ship."

She had been walking with him, but at his words, she stopped and looked back out to sea for a moment. She saw the island, distant from here. Between them, there was nothing but open ocean.

"It's my friend you should thank, Captain," Ra'Jirra said loudly so that the crew could hear her. "She was an argonian sailor, like these in your crew. She worked for Cyrodiil, but she was a sailor, just the same. She died for you all, and for the crew she had lost."

At this, her voice cracked. She hadn't known Ropes long, but she wished she had.

"Her name was Wears-Only-Ropes, and you all owe her your very lives. Every goddamned one of you. So please, give her some respect."

The argonians, as one, let out a cheer and the rest of the crew joined in, shouting "WEARS-ONLY-ROPES!" until it turned into a chant.

"Enough of this," the Captain said, smiling. "They could go on for hours. Our flag may be Hammerfell, but sailors have a bond that goes beyond borders. Your friend won't be forgotten."

"So I've learned," Ra'Jirra said, letting the tears flow freely at the sight of the argonian sailors who looked so like Wears-Only-Ropes, and she didn't giving a damn who saw her crying. Ropes would have been proud.

He patted Ra'Jirra on the back. "Let's go inside," and she followed him into his stateroom.

********************************

Ra'Jirra finished telling Captain Spenglor all she knew related to the underwater ship and the altmer plan to set Hammerfell and Cyrodiil at war. During her tale, the Captain sat attentive, only interrupting to ask a few questions. When she had concluded, he sat back in his chair and looked at her for a minute.

"That's quite a story, Ra'Jirra. Can you back it up with any proof?"

"Captain, every argonian in the area will tell you the same thing. I also have a couple other agents that were there, if you want to turn back and ask them."

He shook his head. "Can't do it. We suffered some pretty significant damage, and our engine is broken. We've got to head back to Hammerfell. Ra'Jirra, out here I am a representative of the Hammerfell government. That little boat alone will be of great interest to us, I'm sure you know."

"I do. The loss of it's secrets will be a blow to Elsweyr."

"And by extension, to Cyrodiil of course."

She shrugged. "Not my decision to make, what secrets we share with our allies. But for all intents and purposes, I am your prisoner. I have little right to make demands. I only ask that you treat me with the courtesy of any political prisoner from a foreign nation."

"Hostile nation," he added.

"I suppose, if you want to put it so. I have worked against your country in the past, it's true. And should my country ask me to do so again..."

"I understand loyalty," he said. "I personally witnessed everything you did out there, Ra'Jirra. Everything I saw corroborates your story. But I have to ask you one question. When the fog had cleared, why did you steer towards us instead of back to the island?"

"Honestly? Because I didn't have enough power to make it back to the island. You were my best hope."

"And if we hadn't turned back?"

"I'm told the craft will recharge in a day. I'd have spent a very uncomfortable night at sea, if not worse."

The Captain pulled a map from a drawer and laid it out on the table. It was obviously a map of the known ocean, with many arcane symbols she only vaguely understood.

"Ra'Jirra, tomorrow morning we should be in this area..." he said, indicating a spot not far from Elsweyr's coastline, before continuing. "If you were to escape tomorrow morning - you and your little boat - do you think you could make it from here?"

Ra'Jirra smiled for the first time since she'd come aboard.

"If I could escape using my clever khajiit wit and sneaking ability that is well known throughout Hammerfell, I might just be able to make it to my homeland."

"Tomorrow morning," he said. "Say, about sunrise?"

"Yes," she said. "I might try such a thing around sunrise."

"Good. Your craft might be conveniently located alongside my ship, tied only by a rope."

"That would be fortuitous for me indeed," she said, rising.

The captain put the map away and pulled out a bottle and two glasses, and poured a respectable amount into each.

"Ra'Jirra, would you share a drink with me?"

"Certainly Captain. What shall we drink to?"

"First, to your friend - Wears-Only-Ropes."

Ra'Jirra raised the glass along with the Captain and downed it. Both glasses hit the table simultaneously.

"Next - to you, Ra'Jirra. I saw you out there. You ran nearly as great a risk as your friend. Don't gainsay me this. Without you, this ship would be at the bottom of the ocean with all hands I have little doubt."

Ra'Jirra didn't argue. False modesty was as bad as false pride. They downed the drink together. Already Ra'Jirra was feeling a bit light-headed, but she wasn't worried. Whatever her fate here, she trusted this man's honor.

"And last?" Ra'Jirra asked as the Captain refilled them once more as tradition dictated.

"Why don't you make this one?" he suggested.

Ra'Jirra thought of what the altmer had shown her. She had not told anyone about that. She wasn't sure if she ever would.

"To the future. A future where the races can live together. As peaceably as may be at least."

"That's a toast any sailor can drink to, khajiit. On the land, there is distrust - if not outright hate - between the races. But out here on the ocean, when it's only you and your crewmates to depend on, races don't really matter so much. Each race has its own merits and abilities. No matter how different, no matter how odd, we know that it is what lies within that matters most. To the future!"

The glasses hit the tabletop and the Captain put them away, then stepped to a wardrobe and removed a female officer's outfit.

"We keep a few on reserve. I think this may fit you, save for the tail."

"Why, that's very kind of you! If you'll excuse me,"

She removed the jacket and the tattered remains of her bikini top, and stepped into the clean, starched uniform, taking just a moment to alter it for a tail hole without tearing it too badly.

"Okay, you can turn back around now," she said when she'd got it buttoned up. "How do I look?"

"A dashing figure of an Hammerfell officer if ever I saw one. Save for the tail and the ears anyway. I'm guessing you're not interested in the cap."

She laughed. "No, I think not. May I assume I'm free to roam the ship?"

"You are. And you're welcome to retire here to my quarters if you wish. I'll stay with the first mate tonight."

"You honor me yet again. But there is no need. I'd really like to stay with your crew tonight if that's alright with you."

The Captain nodded and stepped to the door, opening it for her.

She stepped out to another cheer from the crew. She spent the night with them, and was pleased to find that the argonians and the native Hammerfell humans were not segregated. She stayed up late into the night, exchanging ribald stories with the sailors and drinking a bit more than she probably should, considering she had an escape to execute in the morning.

In point of fact, the Captain himself roused her to remind her at daybreak.

CHAPTER 18 - Epilogue

It took Ra'Jirra three days to get back to Torval after she'd left the Hammerfell ship. The one thing she'd neglected to pack in the CAT was a stash of gold, and she couldn't very well sell the gun. Once she'd gotten to shore, she couldn't figure out what to do with the CAT itself, so she ended up dragging it into some weeds and just hoping no one found it till she could get some HMSS agents back to retrieve it. From there, it was a long hike with occasional stops on the way. She'd rediscovered her old talent as a dancer in the occasional bars along the way. Happily her talent was still in enough demand to keep her fed and a roof over her head. But the costumes she managed to get the regular girls to loan her were even skimpier than they had been in her day. She was rather proud that she still fit into them well, however.

When finally she made it back to the HMSS headquarters, she looked a sight and probably smelled about the same. Fortunately she knew all the correct codes and passwords so getting through security wasn't a problem, but she loathed what Em's secretary would have to say.

"Ra'Jirra?!" is what she actually said first.

"Hello. Yes, I know what I look like. It's been a hard few days, and I'm broke."

"Goodness, come with me. You're not going in to see Em dressed like that! Have you even taken a bath?"

"I had one two days ago," she confessed as she followed Em's secretary out of the office to the gym in the building, where she insisted that Ra'Jirra take a shower - though Ra'Jirra secretly longed to get clean anyway. The secretary then gave her a workout outfit she kept in her own locker. After she'd put that on, Ra'Jirra was taken outdoors to a nearby clothes store.

There, the secretary bought her an outfit she'd never have dreamed of buying for herself - frankly it looked like an old woman's outfit. The skirt was bad enough, covered all the way down to her feet with not so much as the slightest slit on the side. The collar was so high that not a bit of fur could be seen at the chest either, and even the sleeves were long and conservative. She came out of the dressing room feeling like an old maid.

"I suppose this is your idea of a joke," Ra'Jirra said to the secretary. "Sure. Kick her while she's down."

"I beg your pardon! Ra'Jirra, you have no gratitude at all. Now look at yourself in this mirror."

Ra'Jirra did as she was bid. She looked in the mirror. The khajiit that looked back at her was beautiful. The outfit was every bit as conservative as she had imagined it, but it's blandness just accentuated her best features, especially her hair. Even the high-necked shirt, covered with the laced-up vest looked unexpectedly sexy despite revealing nothing underneath. It was as if a light went off in her fashion-senses. By covering herself even more, she brought more attention to what lay hidden. The drab colors made her fur color stand out as well.

She looked back at the secretary, stunned.

"I... I don't know what to say! It's beautiful!"

"Of course it is, you idiot. Enough wasting time. Em will be wondering where I've gone. Why I risk my job for you, I really don't know."

The secretary stopped and paid for the outfit, then hustled her back to the HMSS headquarters.

"Miss... Ponsonby, right?"

The secretary stopped and looked at her, anger on her face.

"You've been here how many years? Yes, Ra'Jirra. My name is Loelia Ponsonby. Yes, I was raised by humans. No, it doesn't have any secret meaning."

"Miss Ponsonby, I'm sorry. I've severely misjudged you. I thought you hated me."

"Ra'Jirra, if you haven't figured it out by now, I hate everybody. Now get your ass in to see Em."

"Well, thank you anyway."

"About time I get some thanks. Now go on."

Ra'Jirra stepped into Em's office. He was writing a letter when he looked up.

"Ra'Jirra? Oh my god! Took you long enough! I thought we'd lost you to a Hammerfell prison, based on what Dar-Amon and Geeus told us!"

"No. I escaped. I just had a hard time getting back."

Queue walked in then and nodded to Ra'Jirra.

"Welcome back Ra'Jirra. Where's my CAT?"

"Long story Queue. Right now, if no one has found it, it's in some weeds near the beach a few miles south of Senchal. I'll draw you a map when I'm done talking with Em and you can send someone down to retrieve it."

"Ah, yes. Okay. Em, I just wanted to let you know. We've just finished the last quality check on the new engine. It passes with flying colors. We'll be fitting it to our first powered ship next week."

"Excellent," Em said. "Keep me updated."

Queue left and Em turned back to Ra'Jirra.

"Where's Wears-Only-Ropes? Does Hammerfell still have her?"

"I assume Dar-Amon has filled you in on the altmer underwater ship then?"

"Oh, yes, yes. We've got tons of argonian witnesses, Geeus among them. War's cancelled. In fact, your dark friend has sent us another secret overture for talks with normalizing relations with Hammerfell. It appears they know you and Wears-Only-Ropes saved their ship."

"Yeah, they do. The Captain let me go actually, Em. With the CAT."

"Really? That's... unexpectedly decent of him."

"But Wears-Only-Ropes was lost. She used one of the mines from the CAT to destroy the altmer ship but... It was a big explosion."

"Hmm. I'll send a message to Cyrodiil. Not sure if she has family there or not though."

"Let me know if so. I'd really like to visit them sometime. She was truly a hero, you know."

"I see. Well, welcome back. You can stay in the usual apartment. We keep it rented for visiting agents. Cheaper than a hotel, you know."

"I know, Em. But thanks. Except... Em, I'm broke. Could I maybe borrow a bit from petty cash till I can get to my bank?"

"Oh, of course. Ask the secretary on the way out. Now go on. Take a few days off. Nothing pressing right now. But I do want a full written report in 2 days time."

"Got it," Ra'Jirra said, adding, "It's Miss Ponsonby by the way."

"Eh? What's that?"

"Your secretary. Her name is Miss Ponsonby."

Em looked up from some papers on his desk. "Of course it is, Ra'Jirra. What, you think I don't know my own secretary's name?"

"No, not really. But maybe you should call her that. Instead of 'the secretary'"

He shrugged. "Okay, if it makes you feel better. See Miss Ponsonby on the way out."

She did so and was granted plenty of spending cash, then went to the old apartment she often stayed at.

"Hello?" called a voice from the bathroom when she opened the door. It was a voice she instantly recognized.

"Dar-Amon?! I didn't know you were here!" she squealed and ran into the bathroom.

"Ra'Jirra?!" said Dar-Amon. "Wait!"

"Whoa! Sorry Mister. I didn't mean to interrupt your bath. I thought you were someone else," she said at the naked Cathay standing in the bathtub.

"Ra'Jirra," he repeated and she suddenly figured it out.

"DAR?!"

"Yeah, Ra'Jirra. It's me. Sorry. Moon phases. I'm Cathay for two days."

"Dar, you're a hunk!"

"Really? You think so?"

"I do! Two days huh?"

"Yup," he said, stepping out of the bath and towards her. "That's an... interesting outfit Raj. Not your normal style though, is it?"

Ra'Jirra smiled and put her hands on his broad shoulders. "No. It's not. Maybe it should be?"

Dar-Amon shook his head, "Maybe, but not right now..."

He began to unlace her vest slowly, not taking his eyes off her face.

Ra'Jirra pulled his hands away, and Dar-Amon's smile faltered.

"No silly," Ra'Jirra said, and zipped the whole lace off in an instant. "Too slow!"

And then she pounced.