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Post by Basil on Jul 30, 2010 14:30:28 GMT -5
Balalaika considered the situation. She had dropped getting rid of Karc, for she had a feeling she'd be able to earn more money in the future if she stuck with him. As for the reward for the bloodsucker...
"I'm willing to take 20 000", she stated calmly, "this and free medical care for my burns. Does that sound good?"
Sakharov quietly considered Balalaika's offer before accepting. He handed her the money before gesturing towards a medical table of sorts. Balalaika went to sit on it, and Sakharov's fellow scientist asked her to expose her burns for treatment. Complying, Balalaika sat still, letting the scientist inspect her burns and apply some kind of cream on them.
"This is the first time I've been to Yantar", she remarked, "any notable sites you'd recommend?"
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Post by Karcentric on Aug 2, 2010 1:38:53 GMT -5
Karc waited for his payment before help strap the mutant on a table. He had the 20,000ru transferred to his PDA, he overheard Balalaika ask, "This is the first time I've been to Yantar any notable sites you'd recommend?"
“Tell her about the resort and casino by the old factory” Karc said before going into the bunk room sitting on one of the bunks shutting his eyes, and relaxing.
His PDA beeped as four signals came into range, glancing at the device he noticed they weren't zombified stalkers but mercs. Standing up he looked at one of the monitors connected to the external camera. The group of four were sitting by an old pylon having something to eat and drink.
Ahhh, that must those mercenaries from the bar. Better have a word with 'em. He thought loading a fresh magazine into his P90. Opening the inner door stepped into the antechamber he pulled it shut waiting for the outer door to open. Stepping out he glanced the group, that vague thought he'd had in the bar returned. Trying to work out where he had seen these mercs before.
The largest of the group was standing as Karc meandered over. "You would be Karcentric then?" The man said making Karc stumbled to a stop. "Maybe, depends whose asking?" Karc replied.
"Well what about," Schwarz drew out the wait before saying a name Karc hadn't heard for over 10 years, "El Pollo Diablo?"
A burst of memories flashed through Karc's head remembering the time when had chosen that name as his new name, leaving his old life behind. "That would also be me, but I haven't used that name for along time. You have me at a disadvantage here stranger, who are you?"
"I am Schwarz we've worked together before, Shanghai, 2003. Ring any bells? Private security. My team has stuck together since then. We happened to over hear an argument which went bad, very bad which involved an official, the mob and automatic weapons. Long story cut short, they found out we overheard and decided to make us dead. We didn't want to be dead so we came where."
"Schwarz, yeah I remember Shanghai, shame nothing happened that night.” Karc said with a small smile, “Small world.”
“Getting smaller all the time.” Schwarz replied.
“So what brings what brings you to Yantar? Looking for work or something, I was thinking of going into the old Factory and back into the labs to have another look around. Last time I was there it wasn't a planned visit, you interested?” Karc asked.
“Yeah we're interested, I'd like to see what that lab contains too, I'd like to have a look some of the labs around here.” Schwarz replied.
“Well it's settled then, you and your merry band, the sniping midget and my good self. I'll see if the eggheads want anything from the lab.” Karc said walking back to the door pressing the button it swung open he waited for the mercenaries to follow before slamming the door shut, moments later they were seated in the bunk room waiting for Balalaika to emerge.
Karc gains 20,000ru
[CHECK]
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Post by Basil on Aug 3, 2010 4:30:44 GMT -5
Balalaika emerged from the back of the lab feeling much better than she had previously. Her burns had been bandaged and she had been given a proper meal. As she went into the bunk room she saw Karc sitting next to four other mercenaries, which set her slightly on edge. Her hand twitched impercetibly as she felt the sudden need to whip out her APS Stechkin.
"I see old murky boy brought some of his friends here", she said, "care to introduce me? And I hope you didn't describe me as the 'sniping midget'."
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Post by Karcentric on Aug 3, 2010 5:26:14 GMT -5
Karc chuckled at the comment, "Would I say that?" He said in joking tone.
Schwarz half turned so he could see Balalaika, "Looking better then last time I saw you kiddo." He said.
Karc looked at Schwarz and then at Balalaika with mild surprise. "You two know each other? Well you already know Schwarz and this is El, Dark and Four they've been working together for years outside the zone as mercs, like a lot of people saw something they weren't supposed to and now here they are. We worked together years back. Lads this is Balalaika."
"You interested in a venture into the unknown?" Karc asked. Balalaika starred blankly. "A trip down into the old lab? Lab X16. It's under the factory, lot's of beasties to shoot, and artifacts to collect. Plus I hear a veteran stalker died down there and his suit was a special variant of the sunrise suit." Karc said. "Yay or nay?"
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Post by Basil on Aug 3, 2010 5:51:08 GMT -5
"Yeah", said Balalaika, who didn't even balk at the prospect of entering one the most dangerous places in the Zone in the name of dubious profit. "Trouble is that my sniping skills won't be very useful in there...an SVD or an AW50 aren't exactly the best weapons for close quarter fighting in a cramped area. All I have for this is this pistol", she said drawing her Stechkin.
The pistol did pack a punch when fired in bursts, but she wasn't exactly sure that it would be useful against whatever lurked down in the lab. Balalaika turned to the mercenary who seemed to have recognised her...he looked familiar. memory clicked when she recognised his silly face mask and strange weaponry.
"Hello Schwarz", she said flatly, "seems like you made it out of the forest too."
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Post by Karcentric on Aug 3, 2010 9:02:09 GMT -5
Karc thought about the problem for a minute. "Well just loot a zombie, they carry an assortment of guns and they aren't that brilliant at fighting. Or grab some cheap." He suggested standing up he drew each knife checking the blade before seething them except for the concealed blade. As he was about to speak again an announcement came over the PA system. Attention all stalkers, there has been a viral outbreak in the Army Warehouses, Freedom and Duty have quarantined all areas north of Rostok and advises against traveling north at all measures. A task force will be arriving here to deliver a possible sample of the virus from a previously unknown location in Red Forest. Any stalker wishing to purchase equipment and supplies is advised to do so immediately, for we require you to vacate the lab. We're sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation. Schwarz looked up at Balalaika again, "I wonder if we went near this 'previously unknown location' they mentioned." He said half as a question, half as a self musing. Unbuckling the strap of his ballistic mask he pulled the gas mask which came with the merc vest out of his bag, as his fellow mercs did also. Karc shrugged his shoulders then suddenly remembering something, pulling the gruesome bag containing 4 lower jaws from the bloodsuckers Balalaika had shot in the swamps. "Each of these slimy things is worth about 3,000ru each. Grab something with that and then we'll start this adventure." Karc said checking each of his guns in turn before sitting back down waiting for the rest of the group to get ready.
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Post by Basil on Aug 3, 2010 13:26:47 GMT -5
Balalaika took the bag containing the jaws and went back inside the lab. She went straight to Sakharov's counter and dumped them there. Sakharov paid her nicely for those (12000 ru in all), and Balalaika proceeded to purchase a gun suitable for her upcoming trip with Karcentric's mercenaries.
She ended up buying an L85 and headed outside to rejoin the mercenaries.
"I have a proper gun for the job now", she said, "sh'we go?"
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Post by Karcentric on Aug 4, 2010 6:16:49 GMT -5
Karc nodded, holding the SCAR in his right hand. He turned and walked towards the looming factor with the group trailing behind occasionally he would shoot another zombie stumbling around ending it's pitiful existence. As they got to the rusting gates he held his hand up and ducking behind a low wall of sandbags he peered over. "All clear troops." He muttered quietly sweeping his gun back and forth looking for anything to shoot.
Karc stopped as they got to the building leading into the lab. "Ok gang, it's a long way down and the elevator isn't working. So we'll climb down the service ladders, creep through the lab until we get the the main chamber where we can pick up a haul of thermal artifacts, make our way up the stairs and see what this lab is hiding. Any problems?" Karc said as he descended down the stairs leading into the lab.
As they went lower and it got darker he turned his torch on illuminating the path ahead. "If you've got NV I'd use it, but be careful there's a few burner anomalies down here and if one of them get set off while ya nearby, you aren't going to see anything for a while." He said chuckling before adding "I had night vision installed on that suit." Karc said to Balalaika before turning on his own NV glad his suit had 2nd gen NV instead of the hazy green glow that most suits had.
They got to the landing with the elevator on the other side of the room, the distinctive growl of a snork and several moans from zombies in the next room stopped the group in their tracks. "And now the fun begins." Karc said quietly.
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Post by Basil on Aug 4, 2010 6:36:00 GMT -5
Balalaika fumbled with her NV goggles for a while, not sure how to switch them on. She had never used such things before. After some fiddling, she found the switch and flicked it before putting the goggles on, adjusting the straps and blinking at the green, grainy sight she beheld. The goggles also made a nasty hissing sound.
After descending the elevator shaft, they arrived at the bottom, which was partly separated by a fence of sorts. Balalaika could hear snork growls and zombie moans below.
"And now the fun begins", she heard Karcentric whisper nearby. Balalaika smiled slightly, her new assault rifle at the ready. She had never fired an assault rifle before, but she was confident that she'd be able to kill anything foolish enough to try and take a bite out of her. The group reached the bottom of the shaft, and all raised their rifles towards anything moving ahead. Balalaika could see three stumbling forms up on a platform, and four loping creatures she guessed were snorks. One of the snorks roared and threw itself at her.
"Bye bye, darling", she gloated before squeezing the trigger. She had a perfect shot at the monster as it flew through the air...
...the gun refused to fire. It had jammed.
"FFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU, YOU FUCKING PIECE OF JUNK!", yelled Balalaika before the snork knocked her over, making her drop her rifle. Before the snork could get at her, Balalaika rolled away and unholstered her Stechkin. As the snork charged her again, snarling savagely, she emptied the pistol's mag into its face, shredding its gas mask and most of its head.
Not even bothering to pick up the L-85, she loaded another mag into her Stechkin and proceeded to fire bursts at two other snorks who were creeping up on them.
"C'mon!", she taunted, firing the pistol with only one hand and grinning manically under her mask, "come and get some! Get some! Get some! Haha!"
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Post by Karcentric on Aug 4, 2010 7:39:54 GMT -5
Karc turned hearing Balalaika curse the rifle she had just purchased. Turning he saw two more snorks coming to join the fight as Karc turned to fire the loud distinct shot of Schwarz' Colt one of the Snorks dropped with most of it's head missing the second fell from the combined shooting from the group. Picking up the jammed rifle Karc took the magazine out and reloaded it testing it. It clicked again refusing to fire.
"What a heap of shit." He muttered chucking it over his shoulder. "Here use this, 50 rounds, and virtually no recoil." Passing Balalaika his P90. She glared at him for a second before taking the SMG and looking it over quickly she peered into the next room before quickly pulling her head back in as several zombies fired inaccurately in her direction.
Karc pushed his back against the door frames, ducking into the room he ran and slide to the nearest cover firing at the closest zombie. Peering over the top of the crate he shot another zombie in the head before the others began to converge on his position, drawing the Colt 1911 he popped up again shooting two more. "Anytime guys!" He shouted. to the others.
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Post by Basil on Aug 5, 2010 6:37:28 GMT -5
"Well thanks for the gun, bozo", she said to Karc before he ran off and engaged more zombies. Hadn't the emitter here been shut down? Balalaika had heard from some of the more experienced stalkers at the Cordon that a man known as "Marked One" had shut down some kind of emitter that turned people in the Yantar area into zombies. Those tales often described Marked One as a tall, strong and ressourceful hero immune to psychic emissions who went on to vanquish the Monolith faction single-handedly.
"On my way!", she called to Karcentric, dropping behind another crate next to where the merc was. She raised the tiny P90 gun and squeezed a few rounds into the nearest zombie. She was surprised at the gun's lack of recoil, and was also surprised to see that its magasine was made of some kind of transparent plastic, enabling her to see how much ammo she had left.
"This gun isn't so bad", she said. She was definitely not used to using such a small gun, since she was used to cumbersome rifles like the SVD. Bullets chipped away at the top of the crate, forcing her to duck. As the zombie reloaded slowly and clumsily, she emerged from cover again and put it out of its misery with a shot to the head. The remaining zombies were quickly disposed of, leaving the way to the elevator clear.
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Post by Karcentric on Aug 5, 2010 7:11:14 GMT -5
Karc stood up shooting a zombie which was wriggling about trying to push itself back into the sitting position. Kicking it back down he smiled and walked to the elevator looking at the jammed elevator, the rusting carriage hung on the rusty winch. Karc pushed on it making it swing gently.
Looking down the shafts he'd climbed up when Seth had rescued him and torch. "We won't be taking the elevator unfortunately." He said holding the rails and sliding down landing heavily on the metal platform sending out an echoing boom which echoed down the shaft and back up, he repeated it for each platform until he reached the last one where he waited for group to reassemble. "There shouldn't be to many foes ahead, last time I was here we cleaned 'em out good." Karc said. Just watch for anomalies in the dark, lots of thermal artifacts and anomalies here."
Climbing down the last one he dropped from the broken ladder landing and absorbing the impact. "Oh yeah the ladder is broken too, it's an eight foot drop so watch it, especially you Balalaika. If you break your leg down here there's only one other way out." Karc warned waiting for each member, a rope dropped down hitting Karc's helmet making him jump back in surprise.
Schwarz climbed down chuckling, "Any other hazards?" he asked.
Karc muttered under his breath before looking about the room they had came to it was quiet apart from the occasional squeak of metal somewhere within the lab.
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Post by Basil on Aug 5, 2010 7:28:03 GMT -5
After rappelling down the last few metres with the rope Schwarz had brought, Balalaika gave the room a circular look. It was, surprisingly enough, completely devoid of any hostile creatures. She went forth into the darkness, her old NV goggles making the room visible.
"Anyone want to use the bathroom?", she asked jokingly after looking into a particularly run down toilet facility with a human skull sitting in one of the lavatories. Nobody laughed. "It was a joke", she added before resuming her little exploration of the room. Bullet holes were visible in the walls, as well as the remains of what she assumed were either unfortunate stalkers or zombies who were killed by dare devils raiding the lab. Up on the metal platform overlooking the room was the skeleton of a being too hunched to be a human, probably a snork.
"Not much in here, bozo", she told Karcentric, "maybe we should go on?"
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Post by Karcentric on Aug 5, 2010 7:55:08 GMT -5
Karc chuckled at Balalaika's joke, looking around the room quickly.
"Not much in here, bozo", she told Karcentric, "maybe we should go on?"
"Yeah let's go sunshine, just wait a second. Turn your NV off." He said picking up the skull with his left hand rolling it along the corridor, bouncing it struck the burner anomaly sending up the intense jet of fire turning the skull to ash in seconds throwing a bolt from his pocket he set off the second anomaly further along. "Ok, move out." He said walking between the jets of fire squinting as he walked past. He could feel the intense heat despite the protection of his suit.
After passing the anomalies he turned his NV back on walking along quietly gazing from side to side in a dazed , "So what did you get up to after Shanghai?" Schwarz asked Karc bringing him back to reality. "Oh, I worked around the Asian countries, mainly doing blood money work. The occasional security job. Even got some contracts from the US at one stage. Got squat to show for it now except for an empty bank account and a truck load of scars. You lot?" He replied.
"Mainly bounty hunting and security. The occasional contract when they needed our group to take care of another group." Schwarz replied.
Stopping in a long room with small cases lining the walls. Karc opened one peering inside, there was ammunition and medical supplies in the crate he'd opened. "If you want some ammo and supplies, crack them cases open." He said taking a drink from a water bottle before replacing his mask and helmet. "There should be a headless bloodsucker up there near that doorway." Karc added pointing towards a door half obscured by shadows.
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Post by Basil on Aug 6, 2010 16:14:31 GMT -5
The group headed towards the doorway, and, true to Karc's words, there was a headless bloodsucker's remains there. There was nothing else to speak of in the area though, so they moved on, heading further into the darkness.
After going down some stairs, they came upon a very large circular room with what appeared to be an equally large cylindrical device rising to the ceiling. Large catwalks seemed to be the only way around the room.
"Big place", said Balalaika quietly. Her head darted around when she saw something move up ahead. As she watched, she saw something short and stubby move slowly towards them. It was joined by another such creature, and Balalaika turned to her companions. "We've got compan-AAHH!"
A mind-numbing feeling had slashed through her skull, making her drop to her knees while clutching her head. She heard someone say in a frightened voice: "C-c-controller!"
Standing up again she swore and looked around her. The NV goggles were now showing many, many humanoid forms moving about on the platform above them. As she raised her P90 to shoot at one of them, it was brutally yanked from her arms and sent skittering over the edge of the catwalk into the darkness below by some unseen force.
"Fuck!", she said, grabbing her SVD, "we're in shit up to our necks!"
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