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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.