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Post by Basil on Aug 10, 2010 16:41:17 GMT -5
Janne yawned and strecthed uncomfortably, ignoring the pain in his muscles that two days sleeping in one of Rostok's warehouses had caused. He took out his water bottle, had a quick swig of water and headed towards the 100 Rads Bar.
He had arrived in Rostok two days ago, after leaving the Cordon and sneaking past a "checkpoint" set up by bandits, running from a pack of blind dogs and finally managing to barter his way into Rostok at the Duty checkpoint, losing most of his tinned rations in the process. He had been very careful not to spend any money or use any ammo when trading, and was therefore still quite comfortable. The food situation was a bit iffy, since he'd been eating bread most of the time, but otherwise, everything was relatively fine.
All he needed was some work.
Janne was up for any kind of mercenary work that required a hired gun. He had the gun, he had the professional background and he also guessed he did have the skills, even though said skills had been strongly tested and had often proved useless in the face of the Zone's many dangers. He had asked Duty about work opportunities, but the faction had rejected him. The Barkeep didn't seem to have any work for him either, so he had just been loafing around Rostok. While in Rostok, he had noticed that stalkers banded together to form raiding parties before setting off into the Zone, presumably to look for artefacts and other loot. Janne had started to consider the possibility of joining other stalkers to go on a raiding expedition...that way he'd be able to make some money.
Since he had nothing to do, he went to sit down on the ground next to the 100 Rad's Bar entrance.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Aug 10, 2010 22:28:55 GMT -5
"Hey lookie here," called one of the guards at the gate to Rostok, "It's Pocahontas."
The woman inwardly sighed as she pulled her gas mask over her face being assured that she would be hearing more of such remarks. In all, her whole experience with stalkers could be summed up with one word, imbeciles. After the customary greeting of "get out of here stalker," Swift had finally made it to Rostok, the very hub of the Zone for the Loner populous and the main base of operations for the Duty faction. In many respects Rostok was a city of sorts, it was a place of trade and commerce, Artifacts, money, information and equipment was exchanged hand to hand. It was also a place of law and order, captured anarchists, bandits and murderers where tried, convicted and punished in Wild West fashion as indicated by the mummified corpses that hung just before the main entrance of the area.
After making a few mental notes on her surroundings, the female Mercenary made her way down to the 100 Rad's Bar to trade her goods. She gave the man dressed in a Merc suit that sat on the ground next to the bar entrance, a sparing glance before proceeding down the steps to the bar and met with the Barkeep. She then sold her loot and bought some supplies and a drink. However when she asked about work she was turned down it seemed that Barkeep only had jobs for lone stalkers not Mercenaries.
She left the bar and found that the other Merc was still there.
"Seems like I'm not the only one in need of work," said Swift studying the other more, it was clear that he had some true combat experience and gave off the demeanor of a professional fighter. Perhaps he too fought in the Middle East.
Swift loses AKSU X2 PM Makarov X3
Swift gains 1,500 RU
Total Ru 21,500
[CHECK]
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Post by Basil on Aug 11, 2010 6:33:40 GMT -5
Janne stretched again and groaned from the pain in his back. If some kind of portable bedding could be acquired from a trader, he'd be the first to get it. He hated sleeping on hard ground, and Rostok had plenty of it. He didn't really notice the female stalker go past him, although he was surprised by the fact women were present in the Zone, since he had only seen men so far. He was also amused by the fact that she was wearing a pair of mocassins instead of the usual combat or hiking boots most stalkers wore.
He stood up and looked around him, the insidious feeling of boredom overtaking his mind. There really was nothing to do here, except go to the Bar, play cards with other stalkers or watch a fight in the arena, although the last option didn't appeal to Janne very much.
As he looked around him, he noticed the same mocassin-wearing stalker he had seen earlier. She seemed to be watching him.
Might as well go say hi, and maybe see if she'd be interested in going on a raid.
Janne stood up and walked over to her, extending his hand in greeting and wearing his usual calm smile.
"Hi, I'm Janne", he said, "I haven't seen you round these parts before, although I've only been in Rostok for a couple of days. What brings you here?"
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Post by blackpapermoon on Aug 11, 2010 12:33:51 GMT -5
Swift watched as the other Mercenary stood up and approached her; as a calm, cool smile formed on his face. He was taller then her by a head, she guessed him to be around 5’10” give or take an inch or so. He seemed to be in his early to mid 30’s, but that was all she could tell about him at this time. He extended his hand in greeting and introduced himself as Janne, then asked her about what she was doing in Rostok.
It seemed like an innocent enough question.
“Anaba,” she said taking his hand and delivering a firm handshake; her voice friendly yet professional, “but the local stalkers call me Swift.” Letting go of his hand she continued, “I came here to trade some extra gear, I had hoped to pick up a job before heading off to Yantar. But I found out I can’t even do that, the areas north of Rostok are under quarantine and it seems jobs here are reserved for Loners. The only thing open to me is the Arena, but I'm not so sure about wasting bandages or ammo on it.”
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Post by Basil on Aug 11, 2010 12:58:45 GMT -5
Janne raised his eyebrows slightly when Swift mentioned fighting in the arena, although he otherwise did not give even the slightest hint of concern.
"The arena?", he said, "I'm not sure going there is a very good idea. People who go there are either insane or desperate or both, and they almost always die. I'm not one to gamble my life, especially not in what is essentially a game. I'm a mercenary, not a gladiator."
Janne had been to the arena a couple of times as a spectator, and had watched a starving, desperate rookie with only a leather jacket take on a man with an exoskeleton. Both had Makarov pistols, but the exo-wearing stalker had evidently won, blowing the rookie's brains out. Janne had been mildly interested by this display, but had otherwise found it to be rather barbarous. He also did not wish to end up fighting there.
"I'm pretty sure a job opportunity will pop up at some point", said Janne casually.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Aug 11, 2010 21:46:03 GMT -5
"I'm not so sure your right," she said " the Zone is very reputation based and our faction's name has been dragged through the mud more then once before. Because of rouge mercenaries causing trouble finding good work for us is not easy. No one is just going to give us a job just because we ask for one, we need to prove our worth and skills."
Just then the sky over Rostok opened up and rain began to pour down on the stalker inhabitants.
"We should move inside," said Swift " I personally don't want to spend the night sopping wet... there wouldn’t happen to be a place to rent for the night would there?"
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Post by Basil on Aug 12, 2010 5:49:28 GMT -5
"Fighting in the arena is not an option to me", said Janne, "I'm not desperate enough. And no, there aren't any places to rent here, we'll just have to go into a warehouse."
Janne ran through the pouring rain into a nearby warehouse, where a group of loners were seated around a fire, eating, drinking and listening to one of their own playing the guitar. They looked up when the two mercs entered the building, but any hostility dissipated when they recognised Janne. The stalkers chatted idly for a while over the sound of the rain pounding onto the old warehouse's roof, until a particularly interesting subject was reached.
"-I heard", said one of the loners with a yawn, "that Duty has been having trouble with a group of bandits down in the Garbage. I heard those bandits have been mounting attacks on Duty patrols and racketeering loners before any help could arrive. They're elusive as fuck and are absolutely ruthless. Trouble is that Duty's short of manpower, and can't spare any men to hunt the bastards down...and apparently they've put a bounty on the bandit leader's head, to try and get non-Duty stalkers to take him down."
Janne, who had been listening attentively, smiled as the loner ended his tale. "And are you people going to go after those bandits?"
"No, we don't feel like risking it. Besides, we returned from a raid recently, so we're getting some rest."
Janne stood up before turning to Swift.
"-Screw your arena stint, we're going bounty-hunting."
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Post by blackpapermoon on Aug 12, 2010 23:55:19 GMT -5
"-Screw your arena stint, we're going bounty-hunting."
Anaba said nothing as she took off her gasmask, if she wanted to interact with the loners she should at lest show her face.
"What more can you tell us about this bandit?" she asked the loner.
"Here give me your PDA," said the loner, "I'll give you the APB that Duty sent around….but I recommend that you don't go after this bastard, he's one of the nastiest things to come crawling out of the Dark Valley in a long time"
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Post by Basil on Aug 16, 2010 13:43:47 GMT -5
Janne smiled cooly. Bounty-hunting wasn't his forte, but it was still a lot better than sitting around in Rostok not doing anything.
"We're going after him", said Janne, "even if he is the nastiest thing to come crawling out of the Dark Valley in a while. Now how about that APB?"
[RP mod, I am disappoint.] [Jesus, bro.]
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Post by blackpapermoon on Aug 16, 2010 23:46:32 GMT -5
"We're going after him", said Janne, "even if he is the nastiest thing to come crawling out of the Dark Valley in a while. Now how about that APB?"
“Well seeing that ya two want to get yourselves shot up, I’ll tell ya,” said the loner giving back Swift her PDA and taking Janne’s “Dudes name is, Dober, Been in the zone since the faction wars, got quite a name for himself during that time working in the concentration camp as a ‘guard dog’. He got a following and started raiding loners in the Garbage. Duty didn’t pay the asshole much mind until he got gutsy and started hitting up on Duty and Military patrols. I uploaded his mug shot on your PDAs, the bastard lurks around the Garbage and Agroprom Research Institute. Good luck ya is going to need it!”
Swift thanked the man before turning to the other Merc. “We should move out now,” she said, “the night and rain should work to our advantage.”
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Post by Basil on Aug 20, 2010 5:58:08 GMT -5
Janne nodded and stood up, turning to the loners who had given them the information they needed on Dober and his depredations.
"Thank you for all the info", he told them, "we'll make sure old Dober gets his come-uppance."
The leader of the loners shook his head slightly.
"-Nah, it's nothing. But once again, good luck, you'll need it."
The Finnish ex-PMC nodded again and headed for the door of the warehouse. The rain was pouring down outside, forming large puddles in small depressions in Rostok's concrete and tarmac roads. Digging into his backpack, he fished out an old military anorak and put it on before headng off into the rain, the drops slapping noisily against the waterproof fabric.
He slogged his way through Rostok and to the barricade, where most of the Dutiers had taken refuge in a nearby bunker. Only one was still outside, standing glumly under the deluge with a black raincoat draped over his despondent frame. The Dutier aknowledged Janne's presence with an unenthusiastic wave of his hand, which Janne returned before leaving the safety of Rostok. There was no sign of any blind dogs in the area though, as it seemed even mutants didn't enjoy getting wet.
Janne was quite dry under his gear, but his hands, who were exposed to the downpour, were cold and wet. He hoped he wouldn't get some stupid illness that would prove to be impossibly hard to treat in the Zone.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Sept 1, 2010 10:37:46 GMT -5
Swift before leaving the hangar went into her bag and pulled out her United States army issued Rain suit. All it was really was a waterproof field jacket with basic woodland camouflage. This article of clothing had been with the former special forces soldier since boot camp and it had been one of the few luxuries that she brought with her to zone the other being her sleeping pad.
As the rain continued to pour down the two mercenaries made their way to the Garbage. Although was dark neither of the two would use their torches instead they let their eye acclimate to the lack of light. Swift did not want to waste the device’s battery life and also she did not want every Bandit in the Garbage to know that she was there.
“Our target may be using the train depot as a safe haven,” said the Native American Merc, “a group of bandits tried to ambush a group of stalkers that I was traveling with, they launched their attack from there. So there is a good chance that Dober or at least one of his men is hiding there.”
However just then Swift, caught something moving out of the corner of her eye. A figure of a man in a dark colored hooded garment and tracksuit pants was running towards them. It was far too dark for her to tell if the man was armed or not. His PDA must have been off or not working as the two mercenaries would have picked up his signal. Feeling that it was better to shoot first and ask questions later the woman took aim at the approaching figure and fired. The bullet hit man in the head and a moment later he fell to the ground dead.
“Shit,” said Swift turning the man over, “this was one of the stalkers that I came with…I think his name was Hood.”
“Looks like he was mugged by the Bandits,” she said after looking the body over, “His PDA and guns are all gone…he should have been more careful.”
“Our target may be using the train depot as a safe haven,” said the Native American Merc, “a group bandits tried to ambush a group of stalkers that I was traveling with, they launched their attack from there. So there is a good chance that Dober or at least one of his men is hiding there.”
However just then Swift, caught something moving out of the corrner the of her eye. A figure of a man in a dark colored hooded garment and tracksuit pants was running towards them. It was far too dark for her to tell if the man was armed or not. His PDA must have been off or not working as the two mercenaries would have picked up his signal. Feeling that it was better to shoot first and ask questions later the woman took aim at the approaching figure and fired. The bullet hit man in the head and a moment later he fell to the ground dead.
“Shit,” said Swift truing the man over, “this was one of the stalkers that I came with…I think his name was Hood.”
“Looks like he was mugged by the Bandits,” she said after looking the body over, “His PDA and guns are all gone…he should have been more careful.”
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Post by Basil on Sept 5, 2010 9:54:28 GMT -5
"He looks like a dirty old bandit to me", said Janne before spitting a fat gob of sputum onto the dead stalker's face. "He looks just like a wigger too. Anyway..."
Janne unceremoniously kicked Hood's corpse away before walking off down the road again.
"If Dober really is in the train depot, we'll go root him out", said Janne.
Some distance down the road, they finally arrived at the old train depot, its massive shape emerging like a blurry shadow in the driving rain. Janne sniffed and wiped his nose, which had started running due to the ambient cold and humidity, and turned to his companion.
"So...we sneak in?"
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scion
Rodent
Thanatologist
Posts: 8
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Post by scion on Sept 6, 2010 17:48:58 GMT -5
A voice sounded behind them: "If you wish to sneak, you must be as quiet as the tomb."
Scion, clad as always in his M36 jacket with the stalker patch, scarf-to-the-brow, and sporting a P99 and Toz66 at his hips, threw a blank stare at the two stalkers in front of him.
"Also, main roads are to be avoided once within a perceptible perimiter."
His gaze seemed to click into animation as he seemingly realised his surroundings existed. His stance followed the lead of his gaze, his arms gesticulating unnecessarily in complement to his words.
"I am Scion, and I happened upon this expedition through hearing about the plight of your..." he floundered for an expression "Duty-bound associate? Yes..." His gaze drifted off again for a few scant seconds, then locked back to its flickering 'twixt his audience.
"I am here to accompany you, for the sake of assistance in your sense and...exploration in mine. I assume this to be congruent to your predicament?"
His right eyebrow arched inquisitively at the conclusion of this statement, and his stature locked in place as he waited for a reply.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Sept 7, 2010 22:40:22 GMT -5
Swift turned around to face the person who spoke, her finger on her weapon's trigger. The man was dressed in the regular attire of a loner rookie. His behavior was rather strange as if he was only becoming aware of the fact he was standing in the Garbage. Yet even more unnerving for the mercenary he seem to have been following the two of them, although he said that he was only there for "exploration" Swift had to wonder if he had not just come for profit as well.
The female Merc look to her companion for his reaction to the new comer. It would probably be best if she let him handle this situation seeing that Janne had a better rapport with the Loner groupings. However the other Merc had yet to take action so she had no choice but to step up.
"Yes," said Swift, "that would be a clear description of our predicament… My name is Swift and my partner is named Janne."
Swift gave the Finnish Merc a sideways glance, as if to say "a little help here, would be nice"
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