The Saga of Boris Unforgiven

  Bright-blue and white uniforms flashed when five men darted from cover to cover. A Clear Sky pathfinder squad moved on, pushing into heavy Sin opposition. Their leader, Slavik Doc, used the protection offered by his proto-exoskeleton to cover his men, most of them, in the aptly named pathfinder suits. Their guns blazed towards every enemy foolish enough to peek out of cover, but Slavik could feel the battle shift against them. Heavy clatter of boots rang from inside the very hospital they had tried to attack. It was a citadel, a sunken long corridor, covered by mud, dirt and earth from all sides, only a tiny slice remaining uncollapsed. It would take more than five men to dug the Sin out of here. A muzzle flash came from the dark, and the screaming pain of a gunshot impact on his shoulder sent Slavik back. He crouched behind the cover he was hiding behind. Blood was trickling down his suit. He felt dizzy. One of his men was struck down next to him, he tried to reach for the trooper b

  A thin, swirling line of smoke rose from a lonely campfire in Red Forest, just before the gates into the forest itself. The fire in it had long ago turned to cinders. A single guard looked longinly at the campfire before shuddering and turning back to the forest to continue his watch. His crimson and ebon-coloured Sunset suit was partially covered in a layer of snow, melting from body heat and the rising sun. He kicked a beer bottle into the fire pit and moved to the gate, where another guard in a pathfinder SEVA observed the hill ahead with binoculars Cheer up Stepukha, it's a wonderful morning, crows are chirping and Christmas is just around the corner, the gate guard said jovially. Easy for you to say Leva, you didn't drink anything last night... Jesus, my head is killing me, and the fire has gone out too. And this goddamn snow, drops of water constantly slide down my back, Stepukha replied bitterly. You can go inside for a second, bratukha, I can handle the watch for a ti

  The afterglow of an emission still burned like an ember over the horizon. Strange, otherworldly strings of pure energy lingered among the clouds, and the sky was torn apart as water begun to pour. In the dead of winter, harsh downpour washed away powder snow for a second. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, the raining ceased, leaving behind lethal ice fields and puddles frozen over. Still shaken by their run-in with the ethereal voices of the storm, Redemption leadership emerged from Forester's tower into the fresh air. Another group of Redemption soldiers had hid in the warehouse and trailer nearby, and they similarly left their shelters once the wrath of Zone had begun to dissipate. Boris' faction members greeted their commander with cheerful hurrahs and jokes. Boris in turn was relieved to see them all. Gleb, Valik, Vova, Toha, Leva and Redemption allies Zakarov, Grishka, Anton, Mark and Arthur were all present. Dimuha had told Boris that despite enormous efforts from

  The wilderness between Jupiter and Forester's tower is as vast and dangerous as that of the infamous Red Forest, but during wintertime it slumbers. Boars, dogs and cats hide in their nests for most of the day, while larger mutants may even hibernate to conserve energy for weeks at time. Stalkers used to utilize this short, peaceful period to sneak into the cornucopia of artefacts that was the northern Zone when the psi-emitters were still active. Today, however, the silence was disturbed by a low flying helicopter, sending flocks of crows and ravens into chaotic flight. The MI-2 helicopter floored it towards the perilous forest, its pilot gunning the engines. The ecologist helicopter came equipped with an emission detector, which of course was never pin-point accurate. The pilot however had seen enough of his comrades get disintegrated in the skies due to emissions and would not join them today, a promise he had made to himself the second the device started to beep and flash red.