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Post by blackpapermoon on Apr 27, 2010 21:58:50 GMT -5
“Same here,” he said as she walked down the makeshift ramp and then on to the duty camp. As he want about collecting his things he thought about how just for an instant the woman stalker looked like his beloved dead sister. Perhaps it was the darkness or his lack of sleep that caused him to see such a thing, or maybe the zone play tricks with his mind. A Bandit with a lame leg had warned him about the zone’s tricks. That the zone would play with a man’s mind until it killed him from the inside out.
Ferret pushed the notion to the back of his mind, as he sat waiting for Dober to come get him.
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Post by Karcentric on Apr 28, 2010 5:21:00 GMT -5
Karc watched the loner go, shaking his head in amazement, "How do they do it? How do nutters like that survive around here?" He said.
Stopping to readjust his pack, his thoughts drifted back his previous ones, "Yeah when we were picking up the packs in the bar there were a couple of chaps leaning against one of the tables, they looked familiar that's all. Seems unlikely however seeing as no one I know has the slightest clue where I am or if I'm even alive." He said pausing "If I see 'em again I'll ask, I didn't want to get distracted while we had a job to do."
They approached the barricade, the Warden Officer looked at them holding up his hand, "We had two of your kind through earlier, had some documents saying that had clearance from the big land. You know anything about them?" They both shook their heads, "Alright, you know the rules in Rostok, don't fuck about and you'll be fine." He warned. Karc was watching a smallish stalker come from the flea-market. "Look, a pygmy stalker." He said with a manic laugh spinning his colt before putting it back in it's holster.
"We're just passing through to Yantar." Burner said to him stepping past the man who eyed them suspiciously as they passed.
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Post by Basil on Apr 28, 2010 10:40:00 GMT -5
"Look, a pygmy stalker."
Balalaïka tensed at the mocking jibe, but ignored it. She'd been teased about her small size before. She went up to the old gate that guarded the way to Rostok and Duty's base of operations in the Zone. The stalker who had called her a pigmy was with another man whose face was wrapped in bandages...who could they be? As she arrived in front of the gate, she was stopped by the guard.
"Hey, we don't let anyone through, man...erm...I mean, miss", said the Dutier, his authority and menace somewhat undermined by his blunder.
"-I'm just a loner looking for a safe place to stay", said Balalaïka, "and I have sniper services I could sell to Duty..."
"-I'm sorry miss, but if I got a kopek for every fool who comes up here saying they're some kind of super stalker I could buy myself an island in the Mediterranean, a yacht and a lifetime's supply of vodka. Besides, you look like a rookie, and I've never seen a rookie able to use an SVD...for all I know you could have taken it from some dead stalker."
"-Well if you won't let me through, can I at least spend the night here?"
"-Eh, I don't mind that", said the Dutier, "you can go sit with the boys by the fire or sleep in the old trailer."
Balalaïka smiled tiredly and went to sit by the fire. It was pretty cold, and the warmth the flames gave was comforting. The Dutiers sitting around the fire merely glanced at her before resuming their conversation.
She didn't rest for long though. As soon as she sat down, she heard one of the guys on watch cry out that mutants were approaching. She grabbed her SVD and dashed over to the concrete pipes that served as a barricade for the Duty checkpoint. Through her scope, she saw around ten mutant boars charging towards the checkpoint...why they would attack armed humans in an area that didn't hold food was beyond her.
As the first boar got into range, she shot it down, neatly putting a bullet between its eyes. Another boar went down, then another. The Dutiers also opened fire, and soon, the mutants were all dead. Balalaïka checked the ammuniton she had left. Only two magasines for her rifle left...the ammunition for it was rare, and not exactly affordable for a rookie.
"-Okay, I believe you now", she heard the guard say, "you helped take out those mutants before they even reached us. Duty would definitely have some use for you what with the mutants coming out of the Dark Valley in droves again...and the Wild Territory needs cleaning."
Balalaïka smiled in gratitude as the Dutier let her past. She could hear the whirl of gravitational anomalies, and took out a rusted bolt from her small supply in her jacket's breast pocket. She chucked them ahead of her, picking a path through the anomalies.
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Post by Afterburner on Apr 28, 2010 13:14:59 GMT -5
They entered the bar, passing a rather annoying bouncer.
"Done. You could have heard the boom, considering what that maniac did to it.."
The barkeep smiled, showing them to sit down.
"Okay, you'll be staying the night, I assume?"
Sighing, Burner responded
"Nope. Have to do a report up north. We'll be leaving in a minute."
He noticed the absence of the figure in the corner.
"Where's that Snitch? I want to thank him for his help, personally."
The barkeep smiled
"Unexpected business trip up north. He left half an hour ago...Looks like you two have a lot to be thankful for."
He left for the backroom, returning after a second
"Looks like I've got some good news for you boys. Come here, this info ain't for everyone."
The barkeep whispered
"The way to Limansk from Yantar has been cleared. Somebody just told me that the anomalies cleared off. That shortcut should save you some time..."
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Post by Διμι on Apr 28, 2010 17:03:35 GMT -5
Dober made his way up to the Market, where Ferret's beacon shone away in his PDA proximity meter. The bandit leader checked the surroundings before approaching the stalker, but the place appeared otherwise deserted. Even if the female loner were here, she was long gone by now.
"Taking late-night romantic strolls, are we?" he growled, putting his gun away "what the hell were you thinking, walking out like that?" he asked, giving the man a slight shake. Despite the general run-down and abandoned feel of the Garbage, a million things could kill a rookie here, especially at night. Anomalies were even more difficult to detect, and mutants were always on the prowl, to say nothing of the sharp-eyed Duty patrols this near the checkpoint.
"Come on," he said "we're getting back to the squad, and moving out towards the Dark Valley once everyone is up and ready." The trench-coated bandit pulled the man up, and the two began to walk back towards the hangar.
"Rise in shine, shorty!" Meph heard a voice as a boot kicked in the rusted metal cover, nearly hitting him in the face. Light streamed into the niche. It was already morning.
Blearily, the bandit crawled out, slipping on his armor and grabbing his guns and blades. Dober and the rookie had returned. Bandits all around were slowly rising up and packing their gear together along with the trip's dose of loot.
Having recovered his senses, the Asian walked up to the squad leader. "What now?" he asked "are you taking the team back to HQ?"
Dober nodded "Yeah," he said "need to give the info we've found to boss and re-stock on ammunition, provisions, and gear. Our next little expedition will be bigger, no doubt. Those soldiers certainly have quite a force in there."
Meph looked around "I won't be joining you folks. There's nothing in Agroprom that would interest me, as I have found out." he paused "in fact, I probably won't even stay to visit the HQ. I've got some stuff to do up north, info to collect. Seems I'll have to make my way through Duty territory."
Dober laughed "You don't say. May I ask exactly how you're planning to get past Duty's defences? Perhaps your none-so-secret little ninja skills?" he chuckled a bit "I can't spare any men when all it comes down to is them getting shot. You're on your own now. Unless..." both men looked at the rookie called Ferret curiously.
"Somehow, I doubt he'll be too willing to walk into Duty's holds, disguised or not, given that they shoot all bandits on sight." Meph muttered "Do you have anything to say for yourself? Where are you planning to go now, stalker?" he asked Ferret.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Apr 28, 2010 21:16:04 GMT -5
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“No,” was all the rookie could say his eyes downcast, he knew he should have staid put.
“Where are you planning to go now, stalker?"
A choice, the rookie was surprised and at first he did not think they where talking to him but there was no one else near by. He did not know what to say at, this was the first time he actually had a choice for his own befit and not that of any one else. His own free will.
He had three possible choices; to go with Dober and the others to Dark Valley then head to the Agroprom catacombs. He knew little about the underground except it was full of military and dangerous monsters, but loot the squad had was pretty good. The second option was to tag along with Meph and sneak past the Duty outpost, going north to who knows where. Loot up past Garbage was good from what he had heard but the mutants and the hostile fractions kept most Bandits from going past this area. The last option was to stay in the Garbage and try to eke out it out. After weighing the risk and reward for each option he picked middle, he would head north.
“North,” he said with confidence as he looked up, “Don’t have anything to lose at this point.”
He waited beside Meph as Dober lead the other Bandits back to base and soon the old hanger fell silent.
“What’s the plane,” he asked as the two then made their way out of the now abandoned structure.
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Post by Διμι on Apr 28, 2010 21:41:44 GMT -5
"We'll need suits," Meph grinned, turning to Dober "any idea where we could pick up a couple of Sunrises without too much trouble?" he asked the bandit.
"Vehicle scrapyard," Dober answered after a bit of thought "From what I heard, two stalkers, mercenaries of some sort, came around there and killed five of our men who were trying to loot a couple of stalkers in the vicinity." the lead bandit recalled the incident near the road to Agroprom "must have been those two mercenary bastards we saw. Pity we didn't know better and didn't take them out then and there. The loner bastards that were there ran back off to the Cordon and returned with a whole troupe of their guys. The place isn't particularly far off, and it's early morning, so you two should be able to take them by surprise." Dober turned towards the hangar exit, his team waiting. "I'd spare you a man or two, but it would get messy, and you'll need clean goods above all. Good luck out there, shorty, we'll be seeing you around." The trench coated bandit swept out of the hangar, headed for the Dark Valley, several black forms following him.
"Adieu!" Meph called back, before turning back to the loner. "Time to see what loner squads are really made of" he mused, stepping outside and checking his map. "Scrapyard's about ten minutes away from here, and it's 'round six in the morning. If we hurry, we can catch those stalkers off guard and go for two clean kills and get our suits. I'll get us past the Duty barricades once we're done with that. As long as we don't stay in Rostok for long, we'll be able to remain undiscovered." With that, Meph put the device back in his pocket, and began to walk south in the direction of the loner camp.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Apr 29, 2010 23:27:42 GMT -5
The taller bandit followed the Asian to the south, because of the time of year the sun was only starting to rise. As they got closer to the Scrapyard his PDA started to register contacts first one then three then it jumped to seven. With each contact the rookie’s heart rate also increased, as did his respiration. They could now see their targets, four out of seven where clad leather jacket not to much different from his own, the last three donned the light military bulletproof vest and a rubberized fabric bodysuit, that commonly referred to as the Sunrise suit. Carefully he lined up his shot his hands shaking as anxiety began to over whelm him. Meph had the first shot and now it was his. His finger trembled as he pulled the trigger, a short burst later and another Loner was dead.
The Loners if not already alerted by the death of the first man where most definitely aware of the bandits now, but that made little difference it was far to late for them to do anything as the bandits bullets rip through them. All that was left now was to get the suits from the dead men and also collect any needed supplies then it was off to Rostok.
Ferret quickly redressed into the Sunrise suit and looted two basic medkits and a few bandages along with one box of 5.45x39 mm ammunition before rejoining the Asian.
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Post by Διμι on May 1, 2010 21:43:40 GMT -5
Meph quickly let off several single rounds from his silenced rifle, downing two men on guard duty before diving forward and drawing his two Berettas. He heard Ferret's AK chatter behind him, covering his advance as he swept the campfire around which the loners were situated with two narrow arcs of 9mm ammo. By the time both of his pistols clicked empty, there was a neat circle of four bodies around the fire, and three more nearby. He quickly looted a stalker shot in the head. The suit's hood had been torn and spattered with blood from the bullet exiting the wound, so the Asian cut the entire piece of fabric off to avoid arousing suspicion. He quickly changed into the suit, and looted the loners of their remaining 9x19mm cartridges.
"This is where we leave before anyone decides to come and investigate," he said to the other bandit. Meph quickly re-loaded his guns, and briskly walked away from the vehicle junkyard, motioning for Ferret to follow him. The two bandits stuck to the main road, still devoid of activity in its morning hours. Large concrete blocks rose up in the distance, topped by forms donning black and red armored suits and powerful-looking rifles. Nevertheless, upon seeing the two stalkers dressed in typical drab olive suits, they parted to let the two pass.
"We're in," muttered Meph to his companion as they walked through the gate and past the anomaly field "looks like Duty doesn't bother questioning anyone but rookies at the gate. Oh well, so much the worse for them." The two walked down a long, winding road before passing a spike-filled trench and a second barricade. The industrial town of Rostok loomed before them, loners and Dutiers milled about their own business, walking in and out of an entrance labeled 'The Zone Bar'. Meph hesitated at the entrance.
"This is the place we're looking for." he said finally, ushering his companion inside.
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Post by blackpapermoon on May 2, 2010 20:12:22 GMT -5
Ferret entered and then walked down the steps and into a room that was converted into a bar and was over crowed by stalkers. The bar itself was warm and inviting, the air was full of various conversations and smelled of some kind of soup or stew. The scent of the cooking food only served to remind the Bandit of his empty belly and pockets. To try to kill the sensation he whet to get his smokes only to remember that he had given them to the female stalker, Balalaïka.
Moving to the back of the bar keeping a low profile as he did. He could only hope that someone did not of a sudden feel the need to look at their PDA’s contact section other wise both he and the Asian Bandit would be screwed. To a Loner or Dutyer Rostok would be a safe haven, but for a Bandit it was like playing with fire on thin ice.
He felt like a small child, he was so confuse. As soon as they got of there he would have to ask the other just what they where doing in the North and why did the have to come here to the bar. So Ferret kept to himself and avoided making any eye contact, as he waited on Meph like a small child.
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