Roleplay part 9

As our massive train of protection arrived at Kievskaya, we dismounted the vehicle and yet again walked through a mass of people before getting onto the station's platform, where our next carriage was waiting for us. What met my eyes was astonishing. Big soft seats covered in a red synthetic that seemed quite expensive and fancy. A table in the middle with what smelled like coffee and tea. I was highly surprised by the service that we were provided by the people of Polis.

The tea smelled delightful. It was presumably the most valuable and exclusive tea in the whole Metro, served directly for us. That is, discluding my own tea. I have always been a hundred percent certain that the tea stuffed in the bottom of my backpack somewhere, was the definite best and valuable tea in the whole Metro. The tea was not even available for just anyone in the pre-war world; it was grown personally by myself in the Sanctuary high up in an unknown mountain in Japan, which is where i lived for twenty years before the war.

Concidering this, and the fact that I was still worried about being spotlighted, I only sat there and looked grim, not helping myself to any of the tea or caffeine.
"Alright. When we get to Polis, I want everyone gathered. Only temporarily, of course. We will later on have time for personal issues. I know I have some to take care of, for myself. But first things first. If I am correct, there will most likely be a parade, or at least a welcome comittee, and we will most likely be taken into custody for reporting and evaluation to conclude the situation. When we arrive, we will be entering Polis from the west. After whatever their government wants us to do, I want us all to choose settlements in the eastern part of Polis, unless we will be granted suites of any form. I believe that we do not need to arrange a re-uniting for the group, as we will easily find each other if we are to leave there again. The only thing I want to know, is what do you think about this? And are anyone of us planning to not continue journeying with this group after being in Polis for a little while?", I said to the group as I leaned a little forward to be the center of attraction.

 

After a few hours my shift at the guard post was over and I went back into the station to look for Fyodor. He would be my ticket to an interesting life, bound by no Hanza bureaucracy about who I could shoot and who I could deal with, just complete freedom as a vigilante ranger. A group of extremely skilled and devoted rangers, all armed to the teeth in a fight for the greater good of the metro, perhapse making a few patrontjiki in the progress. My mouth watered by the thoughts as I made my way through the narrow alleyways of Mendeleevskaya searching for Fyodor.

I found him in a bar next to a group of hookers, who were sending hiw blow-kisses and winking every once in a while. After putting five patrontjiki in the hand of one of them, waving them off, I sat down next to Fyodor as if it was the most normal thing in the world. I looked at him for a few seconds, then just stared randomly at the other people at the bar. "Look, I already know your friends are going to Prospekt Mira, you might as well follow me there" I said in a calm, low voice. My strategy was to throw out a random station name and study his response.

 

"I did not even look up just gave benji a salute and went back to reading."

 

I had gone farther in shorter time than I could remember ever going; from the hands of Fascists in an old-world military facility, being saved by a group of stalkers, rangers, mercenaries or whatever they were, then to a station were people cheered and I saw the largest thing I could remember ever seeing, something called a "train".
With hesitation I boarded it, hesitating both because of anxiousnes about the "train itself", and my own thoughts.
Getting into the large "carriage" along with the others, I sat down in a corner, minding my own buisness, thinking and covering it up by adjusting the screws on my metal leg.
After a while the train slowed down into a stop, and I followed the group outside.
The entire station was apparently gathered, celebrating the people who had saved them.
Feeling less and less as a part of the group that the people around me cheered onwards, I tried first to talk to the group member in front of me, not sure of his name. This proved unfruitful, the people cheering and the stations speaker system far overpowered my voice, and I couldn't even hear it myself. After that I slowed down, walking behind the group, until finally comming to a halt before the entrance to another "train".
We were now in Kievskaya, and this train probably led onwards to Polis.
I stood there, thinking about how a man who cooperated with the Fascists shouldn't be celebrated by the people along with the group who destroyed the Fascist-threat.
My bubble burst by the power of a man shouting:
"All aboard, we're heading for Polis!"
Still hesitating, I stood for a while longer. As the train started moving ever so slightly, a man, most probably a guard, poked his head out the door I were standing by.
"You'll have to get on now!" He shouted over the noise of the train, reaching his arm out. Almost not thinking, I reached out my hook, which he grabbed with a puzzled look.
He then told me to go on forward, which I did. I walked through two carriages, both with a decent amount of passengers in them.
On the end of the second one there was a fancy door along with two guards.
Thinking to myself that the guy who had helped me onto the train had done a mistake, I turned around, looking for an empty seat.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned to see one of the guards.
"Weren't you one of them Rangers?" he asked, "The others are through the door," he said, opening it and pushing me through.
The room was, as good as I can explain it, the cleanest thing I'd ever seen. There were cushioned benches, trimnmed with a red material unknown to me and lined with what looked like gold.
Some of the group, the entirety of which were making themself comforatble, looked up at me were I stood, but I shook it of and moved over to an empty seat.
I realised I'd have to speak my mind sometime, and now was as good a time as any, but I were beaten to the finishline by the apparently most authorative of the group, the man with the.. erhh.. slightly weird hairstyle, proposing his thoughts on the group entering Polis. The opportunity arose, and I garbbed the moment: "About that" I said, "It may be a bad time, as I haven't gotten around to introduce myself or anything, but I've been tagging along for a while now, and I'm not even sure if I should be on this "train". As far as I can remember, I don't have anywhere better to go, and I'd like to try to remember if I actually do. I figure that it would be easier doing just that by traveling, which I guess is a part of what you do. My point is; if you'd like me to, I could join you guys. I'm fairly proficient in medicine and the likes, as well as guns, and I think could make myself useful."
Leaving the air open for whatever response that could come, I once again placed my metal leg on my knee, pulled out my screwdriver, and adjusted some screws.
Well that was a huge block of text, guess that's what I get for not posting more regularly.

 

Sorry for my recent absence I've been very busy with semester exams, just two more to get through tomorrow and I'm done.


Droop my head in exhaustion as our train speedily moves through the tunnels. Small conversations break out, but little more. Eventually the train pulls into Kievskaya station with a thundering halt and and the awes of a wondering crowd. As before the soldiers on our train hastily jump off and begin to push back the crowd and open a passage for us. We to leave the train with haste as we rush across one platform to the next. What's greets us however is something that not even I could have expected. It wasn't armed or armored. Not rusted nor dingy. Rather it was... Comforting.

It appeared the whole group felt the same shock as I when we entered it's polished doorway and heated, filtered air. I stepped slow at first then quickly as my intrigue took over. We sat down on the velvet seats and prepared ourselves for another ride. I'm not quite sure how everyone else felt about this golden chariot we rode but I myself felt uncomfortable. It didn't seem right that I was in such a carriage such as this, tracking my filth and grim into the sparkling clean atmosphere. Apart from us, not a single flaw could be found.

I looked around curiously, noting every luxury within arms reach, Tea, coffee, cigars and real vodka. It wasn't until I saw this table of drinks that I realized how thirsty and hungry I was. "Damn, how longs it been since you ate or drank anything satisfying?" I said aloud in a tired, almost somber tone. After another moment of waiting I forced myself up and took the one or two steps over to the table. My mouth watered as I loomed over it's riches, inching my fingers towards my first victim. The coffee.

I feel a bit ashamed telling people that I've never tasted (nor even smelled) coffee before. But Ive always just said that I've never had the luck to be with the right people at the right time. The only experience I've had with coffee was hauling it down from the surface on a scavenging mission years ago. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if this was the very same coffee. Anyway, dragging myself from my useless thought I carefully pored myself a cup. It seemed very dark but what id I know.

Waiting no longer I raised the gold rimmed china class to my lips and took a big gulp. My face went sour and I nearly spit it out before I forced it down. "Damn is that bitter" I thought to myself. I picked up a nearby cup of very thick pigs milk to wash it down. And boy was it thick. Next to the thick milk Kay a bowl of what looked like salt. "why would their be salt next to coffee" I wondered. The whole thing seemed weird to me so I left it on the table and moved on to the next item. Vodka.

"Ah, now here's something I know!" I said a little happier as I poured a more than generous glass for myself, offering one to anyone else who was willing to brave it's fires. Finally I grabbed as big a handful of the cigars as my fingers could hold and sat down, wrapping all but one in a clean table cloth before stuffing them in my butt bag. Just as I finished Benji began to talk of our plans once we reached Polis, what we'd do and when we'd do it. Most of it seemed reasonable as I thought about it.

Then, he asked if anyone was to be leaving the "group" for any reason. I thought for a moment. A thought that had not made it's self known for a long time. I couldn't stay with this group. I had known it since the beginning.

My mission was to secure a sample of the toxin, kill the operations commander and destroy the rest of the toxin. And as it appeared, we had done so. No doubt I would be meet at Polis' very gates by my superiors and brought in for debriefing and reassignment. No doubt Red officials would also be waiting at the gates for both me and my superiors. A well deserved hand shake and salute would follow, perhaps a compliment and who knows, maybe even and autograph. But in the end I and my superiors would be placed under arrest and placed in a holding cell. Every other power holding member of GRU would also be in holding cells, not in Polis, but through the metro.

Because although our actions had obviously saved the metro GRU had disobeyed a direct order and more importantly denied it's master a much desired weapons for which it had spilled much blood trying to obtain. The group would see or hear little of the consequences not being involved with the Soviet Union or GRU but for a member such as I, with the role I played in it all, would feel the full blow. Now how that blow would affect me was yet to be known, but for now I would just have to enjoy my freedom while it lasted.

Saying nothing to Benji's question I let out a small grin as I lit the cigar and drank my vodka, giving a quiet toast to myself as I gulped. "For the glorious mother land"

 

well, yeah this is my first duty... even though, i ussually hired by some station or reds to be a mercenary to them. but recently, everthing are getting much worse, if not the increasing number of bandit it will be the uprising of the reich, and also much i heard from the northern station there were a new mutant, something musch worse than bandit,reds, nazis and bitch , ops sorry i mean demon, working together in a one force. i said to him to warm the conversation. that's from cuban right?, look like what they said is true, "A smoke in times of rest is a great companion to the solitary soldier." wouldn't you agreed?

 

can someone tell me?, i still confused about train:derp:, is it like a pre-blast one or it's just like from we see in E3 gameplay trailer

sorry for grammar error

 

pre blast

and the reason dimtris sitting on the floor in a corner is because he is a loner like that

 

the train is a pre-blast metro carriage

*Benji laid out his thoughts and it was a reasonable plan, though when he asked if anyone was steping out after Polis, I saw a sad expression crossing Gena's face. I knew who he was and who he'd been working for, and also knew what would be waiting for him in Polis*

'that's a good plan Benji, I agree with it, however, it might be a bit difficult for me at first since I will have to report straight away, but I will find you guys, do not worry about it' and saying so I got up from my seat and went to Gena's side.

'you know, you can still stay with us, we can arrange that, no problem. we can second you to our group, so you will not have to go through all that. I guess that after this 'adventure' they will make us into a stalker unit, with the liberty to choose our own missions, as long as they don't harm the Metro and is for the greater good. you are a valuable asset and a good friend Gena, I would hate to see you go' I said to him in a low voice, without specifing what 'that' was.

*I leaned back in the comfortable seat and lit up a smoke, waiting for Gena's response*

 

"I put my book back into my pack then walked into the center of the train car removed my helmet looked around to the group milling about or resting and asked anyone want me to have there gun dropped off at the ranger armory i know there quartermaster he will let me know if stuff goes missing."

 

As I sat in the lingering smoke of my cigar a guard unknown to me asked if the cigar was Cuban. Now what this cigar had anything to do with cubes I'll never know, so I ignored the question.

Seconds later Odessa approached and sat next to me, speaking with a quiet voice. "you know, you can still stay with us, we can arrange that, no problem. we can second you to our group, so you will not have to go through all that. I guess that after this 'adventure' they will make us into a stalker unit, with the liberty to choose our own missions, as long as they don't harm the Metro and is for the greater good. you are a valuable asset and a good friend Gena, I would hate to see you go".

I thought for a moment before answering. "I wish it was as simple as that, Odessa. But like it or not I will be arrested and tried along with my comrades, regardless of my prestige. The Reds are furious, Odessa. And not just them, but the Reich as well. Our actions in D6 will come back and haunt us for the rest of our lives. For me, those consequences are waiting just down the rail, and to be honest, that gives me comfort.

What troubles me is your fate... The fate of this group. In Polis you'll be treated as hero's, stories will be written of you and inspiration will be found in many. But the second the gates of Polis close behind you, you will be hunted by every faction the metro contains and that's what troubles me. I know my fate... I knew it the second I took this job. The whole agency knew what this mission would mean. You've been a loyal friend to me for many years, Odessa, and I thank you for every second, but trust me when I say I need to do this. Promise me you won't interfere."

 

Would the group lore-friendly be allowed to take their weapons with them into Polis?
And would the GRU or whomever take the whole group into custody or only Odessa and Gena?

"I assume that you are capable of travelling with us", I said to the scientist that had followed us out of D6. I looked at how he adjusted some screws in what seemed to be a metallic leg, and his left lower arm being a hook. He looked scarred for life, that including the scars on his face. To me, he seemed incapable and handicapped. But what did I know?

Beside this, I noticed Gena's conversation with Odessa. It was obvious that he was tied to his faction. He mentioned how we would be haunted for life after this. It made me realize how Odessa had innocently brought us to kill Glock and end the warrant on our heads, but instead it had not only made her warrant greater, but ours as well. Then again, I could recall how she did not want to put us in this situation. She had had all her reasons to not let us know of D6 earlier, and she had all her reasons to want us to stay behind. In my progressing mind, I came to the conclusion that Odessa was not to be blamed, because we had brought this on ourselves.

A long while before this, I and the group had slayed a whole caravan of Nazis on the surface, taking their officer capture, and then brought him to Polis. This officer turned out to be the same man that had mercilessly slaughtered my friend and the love of my life, almost twenty years before that. Instead of ending his life, I had let him live in agony with his arm cut off, hopefully bleeding to death. Unfortunately for me, he had somehow managed to survive and gotten back to the Nazis, where he had been rewarded for his slaughter with a hydraulic hand.

Almost twenty years later, with the group, I had discovered in a dream that the officer we had just captured, was that man. I had walked straight to the cell where he was captivated, and cut his hand right off, which turned out to actually be the same hydraulic hand. Again, I had decapitated his hand, and again, I had let him live. Now, in the luxury train with the group, I was hoping that the officer was still in captivity in Polis. I had business to attend to, regarding him.

What I just wrote, is something that actually happened in this roleplay, but most of you, if not all of you, weren't part of the roleplay when we did this. If you're curious enough, you can find it somewhere far far away in one of the older roleplay threads. (My character is the one that has been in the roleplay longest! )

 

I just checked. Part 1 page 52.

 

Just me, I'll explain later...

 

Also, going along with the lore friendliness, are some of us going to have to be wearing those sunglasses once we get in Polis? What with the bright lights and all.

I remember somebody mentioning that Polis was throwing us a parade. If thats been redacted, I can edit it to fit.

I had numbly walked from the first train over to the second, lost in thought. Hardly noticing the pre metro quality of the train car that we had found our way into, I slumped into a seat and put my legs up, leaning back against the wall. The plushness of it was nice, comforting almost, but not enough to distract me.

I wondered if Vika was still in Polis. "She probably is. Probably made herself into the chief chapter officer by now" I muttered to myself, smirking a little. She had been a good friend, a fellow OND member; we had been very close, almost as close as Lara and I had been before the .. "split", if that was what you could call it. That thought opened up more memories, of Lara laughing as we hunted rats on the Red Line, her stoic expression as I left at the beginning of our separation, the look in her eyes just before Steve shot her.

"Get it out your head" I told myself as I could almost hear the shot, and the one that had followed it a minute later into Steve, echoing around the carraige. I looked around the rail car, trying to find something to distract myself; there was a guard talking with Joe, the scientist from D6 was working on his leg, and a general clumping of people around the center of the cart, where Benjamin, Odessa, and Gena sat and stood talking. Noticing Dmitri sitting in the corner, I cringed a little and hopped out of the seat, deciding that it would probably be better to go get something to drink and hear what our group leaders were talking over than to sit with my thoughts.

There was a table in the center, on which sat a container of coffee. I eyed it for a moment, dragging in a few sniffs of it and, deciding that it would not hurt to try it, poured myself a cup. Then, I noticed a cup of white stuff next to it. Was that ... sugar? I heard about the idea of putting sugar in your coffee from some of the old timers, who had been around long enough before the metro to know of such a thing. I tentatively took a few scoops and swirled them into the coffee, before taking a drink, and stood in the aisle, listening to the conversation.

Well, that certainly knocked a little of the bitter taste off the end. I smiled a little, the dust from the vents in D6 floating down off my face. As I continued to drink the coffee, our situation began to slowly sink in. Not only had killing Glock and making D6 inhabitable not solved the issue of the ransom on the group's head, it had if anything made it worse. And now we were headed into Polis, a "city" that, while independent, was probably not free of the spying eyes of Nazi and Red informants. Gena sounded as if he was going to get arrested as soon as he stepped through into Polis, and Odessa was probably going to get hauled off to a debriefing just as quickly.

"Are we sure its such a good idea to let ourselves get any sort of public attention? I don't know about you all, but I would prefer being able to walk outside of Polis without somebody sliding a knife between my ribs in order to collect a bounty. Over any sort of parade or fanfair. Just a thought" I inserted after a lull in the conversation.

 

"They will not try to kill anyone with a ranger with i said simply.Because i continued they know as nice as most rangers are we will still kill them if they hurt us or are friends."

 

Then, out of the blue, Melnikov joined our conversation and stated exactly what I had been concerned about the whole time. "That is what I have been thinking about all the time as well, Melkov. But I suppose it is too late to make a difference regarding that, do you not agree?", I asked him in return of his comment.

 

Same with me, but with Odessa.