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Post by Διμι on Mar 27, 2010 16:17:32 GMT -5
"There's a bandit patrol coming, there's a shit load of 'em. About twenty." the mercenary scout reported. Seth looked around. There weren't particularly many places to hide, and the Freedomers' green camouflage would be of little use in Limansk. Thor's exoskeleton was partially damaged, restricting his agility in combat, especially if the M240 came into play. Nevertheless, Seth reckoned that from a good vantage point, he and Sokol alone could take on virtually any number of the renegades.
"You heard the man!" he hissed to his team "hide yourselves! We don't need more casualties than we can handle". Seth scanned the area. The road had widened into an almost square-like expanse, a white church with a tall bell-tower marked the fork in the path. "Get in the tower and provide support fire over the area," he instructed the two Freedomers, both of whom obediently went inside and began scaling the stairs up.
"I'd suggest you take your wounded men inside, and have a couple of men cover the entrance to the entrance," Seth spoke to Anatoli and the captain. The mercenary nodded, giving a hand signal to two of his men to enter the building and secure the window positions on the ground floor, as well as the door itself
Up in the bell tower, Thor quickly set up his M240, lying down and propping the gun up on the attached bipod. He could no longer count on his suit to hold up under the recoil of the weapon with only one functional arm. Sokol, meanwhile propped his own heavy weapon on its own bipod by the window and pulled back the rifle's massive bolt.
"We're ready for action." the sniper radioed down to the Freedom leader. Seth finally walked into the building after the mercenaries. "Remember, don't shoot first and let them pass if they will." he reminded on the comm "everyone else secure your positions."
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Post by Afterburner on Mar 28, 2010 11:55:13 GMT -5
"The merc's losing consciousness again. Anatoli, take him. I can't carry him around. Borisov, Danilov, head for that container. Hopefully, they'll pass without snooping around. Borisov, is everything okay? How are you feeling?"
The tall soldier responded, smiling weakly
"A bit under the weather, but I'm okay. Whatever that red thing was, sure did give me a kick-start. "
The patrol soon turned up. They were much better equipped then regular bandits, wearing decent, protective armor and sporting NATO weaponry. One of them even had an exoskeleton and he was walking in front of the group. He was obviously their leader. As they scoped the area, the one in the exo signaled the others to stop. He raised his PKM, aiming at the container the soldiers were in. As he reached for the trigger, a loud, whizzing noise interrupted him. A lone figure was standing on the roof of a short building, holding a strange-looking weapon. The bandit leader fell to the ground with his head completely obliterated by the Gauss gun.
The Preacher turned to his men, who were in a trance, quietly whispering to themselves. His voice was deep and menacing
"Rise, servants of His will! Arise! Obliterate the infidels!"
The men arose. One of them was wearing a silly-looking fedora on his head. The words of the Preacher had to be obeyed.
He closed his eyes and jumped off the roof. The impact of his fall was completely absorbed by the Spring artifacts he was wearing on his belt. As his brethren followed, Гад slowly spoke out to the bandits who were looking at them with amazement.
"Kill."
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Post by Zeno, Lord Camelith on Mar 28, 2010 22:22:50 GMT -5
Joining the scurry to find cover, an open dumpster caught Vasily's eye. Running over to the garbage receptacle, he jumped inside. Immediately his Geiger counter began to click. My suit should protect me from most of this. He thought, switching off the device he swallowed an anti-rad pill for good measure. Flipping the safety on his shotgun off, Vasily pulled out his PDA, angling it with the dumpsters now partially open lid so that it acted like a mirror, giving him a slightly distorted view of the roadway. The groups leader, a large bandit in an exoskeleton gave his men the signal to halt. A few seconds later, Vasily heard a familiar sound, A gauss rifle being fired and the infamous drone while it loaded and charged it's next projectile. The Bandit leaders head exploded, leaving his men stunned. Someone on the other side of the road was shouting, Vasily could just barely hear it, "Rise, servants of his will! Arise! Obliterate the infidels!" and then, so faint that Vasily almost didn't catch it. "Kill."
All hell broke loose. The Monolithian fanatics opened fire on the Bandits, causing the started outlaws to scramble for cover, one of them took cover behind Vasily's dumpster bringing down a hail of gunfire from the Monolith soldiers. Vasily threw himself flat against the bottom of the dumpster as it was riddled with bullet holes, turning the front piece of sheet metal and the bandit on the other side into Swiss cheese.
Within a minute most of the Bandits had been reduced to bloody pulps, and the Monolith goons were making their way down the street. Tightening his grip on the pump of his shotgun, he waited for the Monolith soldiers to reach the road way.
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Post by Διμι on Mar 28, 2010 23:13:41 GMT -5
From where he was standing, Seth could not hear the Gauss rifle being fired. Yet he could see the infinitesimal projectile create a visible distortion through the air as it sailed through the exo-clad bandit's head at an unimaginable speed. The man's head exploded into red mist as he was blown forward by the impact, his helmet literally crumpling into the rest of his head before the matter exploded outwards.
Then he heard the all-the-more-familiar deafening report of the AW50 from the top of the bell tower. Turning back to the window, he saw the leader of the Monolithians fall, half of his head blown clean off by Sokol's weighty round. A second later, the chatter of machine gun fire followed the shot, Thor's M240 spraying bandits and fanatics alike with 7.62x51mm rounds.
The square was quickly turning into a bloodbath, with the bandits pinned between the advancing Monolith squad and the church. Despite their numbers, the guns of the ambushing party and those the group defending the building made short work of the outlaws. A single bandit sprinted, leaping inside the church to take cover from the gunfire outside. Seth's SVU round blasted through his chest, killing the man nearly instantly.
The machine gun fire continued, broken occasionally by the AW50's thunderous shots, and now directed at the advancing Monolith squad, who were closing in around the church. Seth pulled out his USP and fired off a burst of HydroShock ammunition towards the attackers before nimbly disappearing back into cover.
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Post by Karcentric on Mar 29, 2010 3:32:16 GMT -5
Karc peaked out the window spying a man watching the bandits, I wonder who that is? He thought as he took his binoculars out of his pack, looking at the man, he wore a uniform Karc had never seen before, and then there was his gun. What the hell is that thing? The shot from the strange gun and the impact it had on the bandit convinced Karc that he had to get one of those guns. Within the minute all hell had broken lose, firing the P90 at the oncoming monolith most of the round hit but seemed to have no effect, drawing his Colt he aimed for the nearest soldier catching him in the side of his temple. Throwing himself down as several men fired in his direction. "Fuck sake, don't these fuckers ever die?" Karc shouted to one of the mercs. The merc waved a grenade for a second before pulling the pin and lobbing over his shoulder in the direction of the fanatics below. The blast was deafening but it dealt with the monolith soldiers below.
Sticking his head up cautiously Karc looked around the firing was continuing but the blast was still ringing in his ear clearly. Ducking back down he reloaded his P90, and the LR300, firing at another monolith soldier hitting him several times, the man had fallen into a bleeding heap but was still trying to fight, lining up his head Karc fired, putting the man out of his misery before sliding back down out of site. Reloading and waiting for another opportunity to attack.
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Post by Afterburner on Mar 30, 2010 10:44:33 GMT -5
The bandits were retreating, firing off a few bursts before finally disappearing behind the buildings. However, something didn't seem right. The Monolith soldiers stopped dead in their tracks. They seemed...lost, just standing there, like zombies. And then, it happened. Гад heard a clear, deep voice in his head. It was telling him that he is safe, and that nothing will happen to him. His comrades were standing, listening to the voice. It was mesmerizing. And then... "I...remember." His entire life went in front of his eyes. Childhood, crime, Zone. Everything zoomed in front of him. He opened his eyes, ready to fight for the heavenly force that was behind them. But this time, they all remembered. They were no longer the slaves to the will of the Monolith, but willing servants. The voice spoke slowly about an army rising on the north. The army which would come and obliterate the non-believers. It told them not to fear, because their comrades were coming. And they did. The mercenaries' communicators started beeping as an entire army approached the vicinity. The Monolith were fighting to take back Limansk....And this time, they were coming for real. Anatoli realized the graveness of the situation. He started yelling "RETREAT! RETREAT! WE CAN'T HOLD THEM OFF! FIFTY AND MORE SIGNALS COMING IN FROM THE NORTHEAST! WE HAVE TO CLEAR OUT! THE MAIN SQUARE IS TO THE WEST! MOVE!" He started maniacally typing a message on his short-range, saying MASSIVE HOSTILE FORCE FROM EAST=>SQUARE TO THE WEST=>CHARGES ABOUT TO GO OFF=>WE HAVE 10 MIN TILL XPLSN
He gave a nod to the mercenaries around him and they rushed out of the building. Dimitri, on the other hand was standing still. He thought he heard an unearthly voice, calling his name. But now, the only thing that worried him was the safety of his men. His PDA was beeping again. Reaching for his pocket, he realized that it was a short-range message from the mercenaries. As he read Anatoli's orders, he realized what he had to do. The others were already in the yard , running. One of the mercenaries picked up the Preacher's Gauss gun and,managing to dodge the hail of bullets, jumped across a small fence, sprinting towards the square. It was a race against the clock.
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Post by Διμι on Mar 30, 2010 15:21:37 GMT -5
Seth's eyes widened as his PDA began beeping frantically, more Monolith troops appearing in the vicinity by the second. Fifty, then sixty, seventy signals in a one-kilometer radius, concentrated in the Northeast.
"Are you out of your mind, mercenary!?" Seth roared at Anatoli, pinning him to the wall. "We'll never make it out of here alive!" The gunfire outside intensified, more fire erupting from the top of the tower. Letting go of the mercenary, Seth sprinted up the stairs to give the message to his comrades. Sokol quickly packed his rifle and nimbly sprang down to the ground, sprinting away after the mercenary forces. Thor, however, remained still, firing his machinegun away at the advancing Monolithians, who fell like flies. A stream of bullets hit the bell tower, one ricocheting off of his heavily fortified armor.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, stalker? We've got to get the fuck out of here!" Seth shook the exo-clad Freedomer. Inside, however, he already knew why.
Thor calmly gestured around himself, pointing at his suit. More of the drive pulleys had been destroyed in the hail of gunfire. "Time's got me down this time, old friend." the Freedom gunner spoke quietly. "Now save yourself and get the rest to the Dead City! I'll cover your escape with the little time I have. Take this, it'll speed you up." The huge Freedomer handed his artifact belt to Seth. "Now go!"
The clock was ticking, with only several minutes remaining to get out of the explosives' range. Seth nodded slowly. "Да наидёт тебя свобода. Let Freedom find you." he said to his squad mate before sprinting down the stairs, slotting the Moonlights into his own belt and pocketing the rest of the artifacts. The chatter of the M240 upstairs resumed, Thor was shooting off the last of his rounds, covering the group's escape.
Seth sprinted off after the squad of mercs some distance ahead, knowing that the area beneath him was packed with high explosive with the timer quickly ticking down. He saw Dimitri and Danilov a short distance ahead, catching up with the mercenaries. He could not place Borisov, but hoped that the soldier had made his way out as well.
The Freedom leader had sprinted a solid mile in the few minutes he had, catching up to the mercenaries and out of the explosion's range. He could see the river up ahead, the bridge to the Red Forest separating the Dead City from the outside Zone.
The Monolithians were far behind, hampered by Thor's barrage of 7.62x51mm bullets. Seth saw a RPG round stream towards the church's tall bell tower in the distance. The Monolithian's aim was off, and the blast erupted slightly below Thor's position. The explosion shook the entire structure, but the gunfire continued.
Then Seth's PDA gave a slight beep. He slowly turned the electronic device, gazing at the screen. The timer had run out.
He lifted his eyes, beholding the gigantic fireball that erupted from the center of the square and spread across an entire section of the city, dozens of smaller blasts following in its wake. Old, Soviet-era structures collapsed under the shockwave or gave in to the wake of the flames. Some blew apart under the impact completely as a fiery cloud of ignited dust, smoke, and dead remains stretched into the sky.
The white obelisk of the church's bell tower, standing in the midst of the blast, was wreathed in flames. The structure stood proudly, shaking for several seconds before it too gave in and collapsed into the inferno, completely obliterating the remains of the Freedomer who gave his last stand in its top chamber. Within a minute, all that was left of the area was a giant, smoking crater.
Seth hung his head as Sokol came near. The sniper had managed to escape the blast without significant injury as well. "He stayed, didn't he?" the younger Freedomer looked up solemnly at Seth.
"Yeah." was the answer. The two stalkers gazed out at the plume of smoke rising into the sky. All around them, mercenaries were making their way out of Limansk towards the Dead City, carrying their wounded.
"We'd better check on the rest." Seth said finally "standing around like this won't fix much now." The two remaining Freedomers set off towards the entrance to the mercenaries' base.
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Post by Karcentric on Mar 31, 2010 10:58:07 GMT -5
Karc was crouching behind cover when the message came, looking at the PDA. Psychos, on one side, suicidal run through the main square. Good times. Karc thought jumping up he and the mercs sprinted away from the battle, as they ran several monolith soldiers turned and chased them firing as they ran, diving to one side Karc prepared to jump up, as he sprang up the troops were gunned down from behind, looking up Karc saw that Thor had gunned them down and was staying behind to delay the oncoming wave, saluting towards the church, Karc turned and raced after the group who quite far ahead at this time.
The echoing gunfire was still ringing as Karc reached the group who were assembled by one of the barricades used by the warring factions. Gasping for air Karc, slumped against the barricade, he silently thanked his lucky stars, and Thor for saving his hide. "That there is truly heroic stuff." Karc said quietly to no one in particular. The sudden eruption of noise roused him. Leaping up he watched the explosions with mixed feeling, the triumph of over coming a vastly superior force, but at the cost of another valuable member of their team.
Karc was glad to see the bridge and the area beyond that, the safety of the mercenary HQ, letting out a sigh of relief.
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Post by Zeno, Lord Camelith on Mar 31, 2010 19:56:53 GMT -5
10 minutes? Fuck! Thought Vasily, shoving his PDA into his pack, Standing up he waved to what Mercs were left, "Come on! We have to move, NOW!". Vasily started to run just as the approaching tide of Monolithians hit what was left of the bandits and Mercs. Gunfire rang from every direction and explosions echoed through the narrow streets. After a few minutes of running, he was almost out of the city, he could see the buildings in the Dead City across the river. Suddenly, an explosion shook the earth beneath him, even at his distance from the square, the trembling made him stumble and fall. Rolling over on his back, he could see the plume of fire rising up from where the square had been. The Church where Seth and the other Freedomers had been was engulfed in fire, and was falling apart.
Pushing himself up, he brushed the dirt off his suit and started towards the bridge. There was little chance those Monolithian goons would continue through Limansk now. He could see other figures emerging from the city now, most of them were the Mercs from his group. He could see Seth and the other freedomer Sokol, along with a few others. Vasily turned around and started towards the Bridge to the Dead City.
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Post by Afterburner on Apr 3, 2010 15:40:53 GMT -5
The soldiers were the last ones to rush out, zigzagging through the tight alleys. None of them spoke until they reached the park, which was the only thing between them and the mercenaries. The park was empty, but still felt alive. As soon as they broke out through the trees, Anatoli stepped out with a grim face.
"Casualties?"
The mercenary holding the gauss gun responded
"One. Freedom member. Died in the church collapse. He sacrificed himself for our own lives. A minute of silence in his honour?"
Anatoli nodded. Having payed respect to their fallen comrade, the group continued. Anatoli ignored his PDA's beeping. The mercenaries were retreating back to the Dead City, seeing as the Monolith force was too large to take on for now. Several groups of silent, experienced stalkers joined them, stopping only to salute Anatoli, who was still grimly quiet.
As they crossed the bridge, one of the mercenaries was murmuring something about a winch, pointing at Seth and frowning. Anatoli gave him a seething look and the mercenary fell silent immediately. Anatoli stopped.
"From this point onwards you will see what few outsiders have seen so far. You must give me your words that you will keep the whereabouts of the mercenaries' base secret and safe from any intruders. If you agree, you are hereby granted temporary level three access clearance, meaning you can pretty much enter and use any part of the base except for the intelligence and main HQ. Do you swear?
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Post by Διμι on Apr 3, 2010 23:09:17 GMT -5
Jericho paused, witnessing the massive explosion as scores of the Monolith's advance force were obliterated in the distance. The fireball rose into the sky, pouring ashes and flaming debris over Limansk. Mercenaries could be seen fleeing the area, too cowardly and weak to face the advancing menace that waited for the smoke to clear. Jericho could have easily taken several of the gray forms out from his position two kilometers away, but the Preacher decided to let the craven invaders leave and retreat to their fortress. It would not matter, as their puny refuge would be swept clean off the map by nightfall.
He turned to the silent ranks of troops clad in brown armor behind him. In the distance,the Preacher could see nearly a dozen boats ferrying scores of holy warriors across the river to the side of the Dead City, each carrying several Monolith soldiers across before returning for more. Raising his rifle, he spoke, a deep roar amplified and strangely distorted by the speakers in his mask as the army of Monolithians stood at rapt attention.
"Disciples of the great Monolith! Today is the long awaited day the plans of our great God come into effect! Today, Limansk will be ours! Today, the Dead City burns!" The High Preacher raised his voice even further "And tomorrow will be the day of the new Dominion, when we will continue like a great divine flood past this city and retake the rest of the Zone for our great Monolith, annihilating all false nonbelievers! Today Limansk, tomorrow the Zone, and the entire world will some day be ours! We fight for the Monolith, our creator and guide!"
The eardrum-bursting roar that followed echoed across the city and into the Red Forest. The ranks of the Monolith army broke as the soldiers began a quick march towards the Dead City, three miles away.
Jericho let the waves of troops pass him as he slowly walked through the rubble of the Limansk district demolished by the mercenaries' explosives. He paused by the charred remains of what used to be a white limestone church. Someone or something was clawing away at its collapsed tomb from within, making small chunks of stone fall from the top of the pile. Thinking it could be a surviving soldier of the Monolith, the High Preacher waved over two exoskeleton-suited stalkers, who obediently hurried over and began digging away at the rubble.
Slowly, the diggers pulled away more and more chunks of stone, eventually revealing a exoskeleton-clad man making futile attempts to pull himself out of his own grave. The suit had been completely destroyed, nearly all of the drive motors broken, and pneumatic pulleys and fixtures broken nearly beyond recognition. However, by the little yellow and green paint remaining on the suit, Jericho could see that the man was a Freedomer.
Upon seeing his Monolith captors, Thor instantly attempted to retaliate, his arm painfully making its way to the holster of the USP on his belt. Shakily, he raised the weapon, aiming for the Gauss-gun wielding man before him.
Jericho laughed, kicking the pistol from the Freedomer's weakened hand before cocking his own gun. He depressed the initial charger, the coils in the gun's barrel energizing the electromagnetic rings lining the rail. Slowly, he aimed for the Freedomer's head, intending to end the man's misery. Then, something clicked in the Preacher's mind. This is a strong one, he thought, Could it be? A potential champion?.
He shouldered the rifle, discharging the energy in the coils. Kneeling by the Freedomer, he planted his hands on the face mask of the man's exoskeleton, ripping the cover off cleanly along with a section of the suit's neck. The man's face stared defiantly back at the expressionless helmet of Jericho's own suit, the Freedomer's body was desperately trying to struggle against the dead weight of his own broken suit.
The Monolithian drew a tranquilizer gun, loaded with a mild sedative, and fired, the syringe unloading into the Freedomer's artery. Jericho drew a small glimmering device, a transparent stone that flashed with an unnatural blue light, and held it towards the face of his captive. Thor's eyes dilated under the combined effect of the sedative and miniature psychic emitter, and the Freedomer suddenly fell limp, staring blankly at the glimmering blue light.
Jericho pocketed the device and spoke to the two Monolithians beside him. "Take him to the inner chamber. We will let the Monolith decide this one's fate." The two men quickly picked up the still stalker, and began to walk in the direction from which they came.
The Preacher was quiet. All around him, troops were still flowing, heading for the mercenary base. Finally, he turned and began walking towards his target, his gun held aloft. The mercenaries' time in the Zone was about to come to a swift end.
"Undestood." Seth replied to the mercenary, glancing up at the winch securing the narrow bridge. He chuckled slightly, as the machine looked brand new.
"Mercenary," he spoke "there is a Duty force tailing us, several loner stalkers in their employ. I doubt the Dutiers will pay you a visit themselves, but if they send in the loners, let them in and keep them in. I don't want a tail behind our expedition to Pripyat."
Anatoli nodded. "It will be done." he said to the Freedom leader. "We don't need any further inquests in this region, so I suppose dealing with this one will settle the matter."
Seth walked off towards the building in the compound he knew to house the traders and mechanics. Sokol was presumably already there, he thought. The two needed repairs done to their suits promptly, as the protective elements the Freedomers had installed were slowly wearing down in the wake of combat.
Finding the mechanic, Seth paid him a generous sum in short order before handing over the modified Wind of Freedom. The mercenary had done a solid job, he thought upon receiving the repaired suit and putting it on. All of the damaged heat dissipation liners had been replaced, and the lack of splintered fiberglass was a refreshing change Seth welcomed. The shredded and scorched outer lining had also been replaced, even though it was no longer permeated with the bulletproof compound Freedom used in their protective equipment.
After taking care of his gear, the Freedomer left the building, settling down in the base courtyard. Musing about the upcoming venture into Pripyat and the heart of the Zone itself, Seth waited for the rest of the group to reassemble.
Tl:Dr
[STFU PLZ]
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Post by Zeno, Lord Camelith on Apr 4, 2010 0:37:17 GMT -5
Just as Vasily entered the bulk of the Dead City with the others, his PDA began beeping furiously. It was an audio message from Kruglov at the mobile lab.
"Sir, we've re calibrated all of the equipment for the next emission. A squad of Duty and Lone stalkers was here just a few hours ago looking for you and Seth, they've headed north towards the Red Forest. Also, a mercenary by the name of Jurgen and a bandit who went by Lutiy were here just before them, from what I overheard from one of their conversations, Lutiy means to kill Seth, so you should warn him if you can. Anyways, back to my point, we have everything ready for the next emission, should we find another test subject? Please reply as soon as you can, another emission could start at any moment!"
Walking down a side alley, Vasily started to record a message.
"Kruglov, don't bother with a test subject, I have something special planned for this run. I'm getting ready to leave for the lab now, I just need to grab a few things from the trader here and say farewell to the group. Send me the data from the last run would you? I would like to look over it on my way back."
Sending the message, Vasily walked over to where he companions were gathering, "It was fun you guys, but this is where I get off. An opportunity awaits me at the Lab that at the moment is more tempting than a trip to Pripyat." Turning to Seth, he said "Kruglov told me about some bandit by the name of Lutiy who is apparently out to get you, watch your back out there." Turning to walk away, he said over his shoulder "Tell Burner I said goodbye when he wakes up!"
Walking into the Merc trader's building, he looked around, until a gigantic box of a gun caught his attention. "Is that what I think it is?" He said to the trader, pointing at the rifle. "If by that you're asking if it's an OICW, then yes. You have no idea what I went through to get that." Pulling a sizable wad of bills from his pack, Vasily put them on the counter by the trader. "Keep the change." He said, picking up the rifle, and walking out.
Within a few minutes, Vasily was out of the Dead City, and he could just barely see the top of the factory in Yantar.
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Post by Afterburner on Apr 4, 2010 3:17:51 GMT -5
"Come to me...I see you...My new champion! You will be one of my exalted children! You will have all the power of this world! Come to me!"
Burner woke up, painfully. He was in the medical wing of the base, having his wounds treated. Next to his bunk was Borisov, snoozing. The only other person in the room was in front of him, and he was looking as startled as Burner himself.
Dimitri.
Dimitri's face had a terrified expression, his eyes wide open. As Burner tried to speak, he felt a sharp pain in his head and collapsed back on his bunk. Dimitri was kneeling on the ground, grimacing. Suddenly, darkness devoured the room and a lone figure entered. It's silhouette spoke as clear as day
"My children...Your day is here! Return to me, my champion! Come back! I will fulfill your every will! You, mercenary! Your days are over here! You have absolutely nothing in here! Come to me and everything you ever wanted will be yours! Come! Your former friends will be obliterated! This place will be destroyed! Come!"
As the figure spoke, Dimitri got up, raging. He lunged towards the figure which disappeared into thin air. Instead, he was trying to strangle a terrified medic. He released the man and dropped back into the chair
"I...am...sorry...I don't know what came over me...I...I...Forgive me. Please, can you leave us alone for a second?"
The medic hurried off, still throwing a few glances over his shoulder.
"You saw Him too?"
As his headache stopped, Burner responded
"Yes...What IS he? Who is he? What will happen to this place?"
Dimitri's already receding hair seemed to be going gray by every minute. He took in a deep breath and started
"I am not sure...I think He is calling us...He is calling me back, and summoning you towards him...Oh God!"
Burner was starting to get angry.
"Who is HE, captain? WHO?!"
Slouching, the captain sighed
"He? He...He is the Monolith...He is calling us..."
"The MONOLITH? Calling me?! MONOLITH? Are you sure? THE MONOLITH? Great, what has the world come to...What about the barges?"
Dimitri raised his head
"What barges? Where?"
"He doesn't know of the barges! You haven't seen the barges? While he was talking to me, I saw a river, covered in mist. Suddenly, a light broke through the mist. I saw that it was not a single light, but a group of them. Then, one got out in front. He was standing on it, silent. Then, another barge followed and a group of men was on it. Finally, I saw a city burning , littered with corpses in blue, red and green. Finally, I saw him, standing next to a great crystal, praying."
Dimitri's curious expression soon turned into shock.
"Are you OK? Can you walk?"
Nodding, Burner got up. He was feeling uneasy, but his wounds had slowly healed over time. Once again, he had cheated death.
"Hurry! We must get to your superior officers! Who can I speak to?"
"Cherkesov, probably. I don't have fifth level access, so I can't speak to Codename L Besides, the old man handles everything around the base, so your best choice is with him."
As they passed several groups of mercenaries, Burner saw Seth and Sokol in the cortyard. As he scurried off towards them, he saw Dimitri kicking in the door to the old man's office, yelling.
"You guys OK? I'm feeling much better now, although I've had a nasty recovery. Look, I had a vision of some sort, and Dimitri seemed to have had it too. He nearly strangled the medic...God, I swear that was someone else in the room. You saw Danilov and Karc anywhere? And where is Vasily?"
While the others were in the yard, Dimitri was reporting to Cherkesov
"...hundreds of them. Crossed the river. They're walking through the city as we speak, preparing to attack. We stand no chance of defeating them alone. We need a miracle!"
Cherkesov prepared to respond, but he was interrupted by a message from the base inter-com.
"The stalker group that just came from Yantar, report to the intelligence immediately! You are hereby granted level five clearance. Commander Cherkesov, you should come in as well.
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Post by Karcentric on Apr 4, 2010 11:36:32 GMT -5
Karc made his way to the trader to offload the extra guns he had picked up along the way. He made his way to the old building he had visited before he left, his old coat and boots were where he had left them, pulling the coat on and discarding his ruined boots, he settled down for an hour of sleep.
Waking to the beep of his PDA's alarm Karc rubbed his eyes, and put his armor back on, packing his bag he made his way out to find Seth and see what the step was in this plan of his. He spied Seth, Sokol and Burner talking in the courtyard. He made his way towards them, he had almost made it to them when an announcement called for them, giving them level five clearance. Karc looked about he wasn't sure why they would want to ask him anything, he was simply a gun for hire and was only really tagging along for any possible profits he could find. He caught up with the three as they hurried towards part of the base he hadn't been to before. "What hell is going on? Why do they want to talk to me?" He asked
They stopped in front a door with two heavily armed guards outside. One of them, looking over them trying to figure out which one of these 4 was in charge, Karc smiled pointing to Seth. The man directed his question to Seth. "You lot that group from Yantar?"
(Karc Sold LR-300, MP5 for 9500ru)
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Post by Διμι on Apr 4, 2010 20:51:22 GMT -5
"Yeah, we've got some issues to discuss here." Seth slowly walked into the main HQ as the group was called in. The Monolith knew... he thought. It knew that he was in this base, and what he carried. He had to get out of here before the crushing wave of fanatical troops obliterated everything in its wake to destroy him and the Code.
A soft, raspy voice on the intercom distracted him from his thoughts, a voice he had never hoped he would hear in his life again. "Commander." the intercom buzzed "I wish to see the Freedomer. Now. There's very little time, bring him down to the inner sanctum of the lab immediately." The intercom cut off abruptly.
Cherkesov gave a very odd look at the Freedom leader, seemingly taking in every detail of the stalker. "You'll have to excuse us." he said to the rest of the group "you, stalker, come with me." he motioned for Seth to follow.
The two walked out of the room and descended several flights of stairs into the mercenary laboratories. After less than two minutes of walking, they came to a nondescript plain door, furnished in leather. A small red bell was to the side, and a camera was installed over the portal.
"Invite yourself." the Commander said to Seth "I don't have the authority to go any further. None of us can see the mercenary leader without a personal invitation. It must be something damn important." with those words, Cherkesov slowly walked down the corridor back towards the main intelligence conference room.
Seth gazed for several seconds at the button before pressing it. A bell rang somewhere inside as the door swung open. The Freedomer walked inside, knowing who was about to receive him.
Lining the back wall of the small room was a number of massive computer blocks and terminals, all looking as if they dated back to the late eighties. In the center of the room stood a large, well-organized and clean desk, behind which the Freedomer's host sat, deep in thought. The man looked to be at least fifty, a small, groomed gray beard covering his chin.
"Did you receive it?" the mercenary kingpin asked without looking up to greet his guest.
Seth nodded. "Yes, Jurgen did the job" he answered "although the designated target isn't around to receive it." he had to put off the mercenary so he would not attempt to recover what he had given away so easily.
"Where is he, then?" a flash of annoyance creased the mercenary's brow "doesn't he know the time is right?"
"He's headed straight to Pripyat," Seth replied "he understands that the Monolith knows the Code has been optimized for usage, and hence it has directed the majority of its forces here, where it believes it is located at the moment, under the pretense of destroying the Dead City. If I get out of here alive, I can meet him in the abandoned city and hand over the Code." Seth lied, as he had no intention of doing so whatsoever.
"Good," the mercenary leader lifted his head "I'm glad you didn't get too caught up in those Freedom schemes of yours to forget the reason you're really here. You've got twenty years of hard labor of dozens of people on your hands, including myself, and I want to see it come to fruition. Remember, only the target can complete Project Shutdown, as only he is immune to the psychic emanations. Anyone else will be zombified or converted before they even get close. Don't even think of fooling around with it, you won't succeed."
Seth took several seconds to stare into a blank point on the wall behind the mercenary "I won't." he answered finally.
The mercenary nodded "We have a transport waiting for you. It'll deliver you to safety from here." he informed the Freedomer "Good luck out there, stalker. If we're successful, we'll be able to end this aberration once and for all, and repair the damage done to this land." A sudden series of muffled explosions interrupted the mercenary. "That'll be my call." he said "Now get out of here, stalker!" he motioned towards a door to the side. "You'll be given a safe way out. Don't let me down."
"You're staying here?" The Freedom leader looked incredulously at the mercenary.
"Yes. I can't let my men down, and I've already done my part in this scheme. You're a whole lot more important now, make sure the target reaches the Zone's center." the mercenary leader paused "now go! My men can hold the Monolith forces off for a while, but once their command realizes you're not here, they'll move on. They'll do anything to protect their Deus Machina."
"This won't be the last I'll be seeing of you." The Freedomer said as he exited.
"With any luck, yes." was the reply.
Jericho watched with a sense of sick satisfaction as the rockets streaked across the river, slamming into the fortified compound walls and towers. The bridge dropped with a clang as the box housing its winch was blasted apart. Monolith troops began pouring towards the viaduct, only to be gunned down by mercenary sniper fire. Nevertheless, more kept coming, firing back at the fortifications and showering them with grenades and explosives.
The Gauss Rifle in the Preacher's hands did not know rest, as mercenary after mercenary fell to its sting. The battle would be decided soon, he thought. All would be over when the group that was ferried across the river reached the city.
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