Chapter XCVII: Resurrection

Dawn begun to creep over the horizon. The stupor of the night before started to melt, the frost partially removed by the early rays. Among the snow and frozen ground, the Monolith warriors blended in better than during most of the year. Around the ventilation complex of Jupiter, six heavily armed Monolith fighters patrolled, weapons drawn and ready for use. Their leader, a masterful Preacher, opened the comlink on his suit's wrist and spoke into it:

• Inquisitor, this is Lazarus, the target is secure, no infidels contaminate this place with their presence.

• Excellent, brother, praise be the Monolith. Maintain radio silence and protect the sacred purity of the shrine, we will send reinforcements once the pagans at their pitiful refuge have been cleansed, came a monotone voice from the radio

• Vrag Monolita!, Lazarus replied and closed the device.

The Monolith squad assembled around the facility, a rookie fanatic patrolling the door and yard, three men taking a rest in the first office room and two more entering further in the rusty and cobweb-riddled ventilation system. Lazarus lit up a napkin on top of an opened tuna can, cooking the fish once the oil burned away. Even holy crusaders need sustenance, he thought to himself. As he begun to eat, the two other veterans around him requested permission to sleep, which Lazarus granted them.

Fifteen minutes later, Lazarus could've sworn he heard the sound of helicopter rotors coming from the south, but passed it off as the Limansk battle chopper returning to base. With his meal finished and two separate patrols on alert, he fell into a slumber as well. Inside the ventilation system, the two fanatical soldiers of the Wish Granter travelled on, their flashlights illuminating the concrete and degraded metal. One of them rose up a pipe to check the level above. Twenty seconds passed and his comrade turned to investigate some tushkano droppings to determine if there was enough of them to be a threat. While the fanatic was distracted, he missed a sound coming from the upper level, one of a knife being unsheathed and thrusted into human flesh.

• Anything on the upper level brother?, the Monolithian, still crouched down asked, as he heard footsteps coming.

• Yes. Found a dead body. He was wearing Monolith colours, a voice said, and the fanatic turned around quickly. He caught a glimpse of a man in a SEVA/LC-suit hybrid before a knife slid into his throat, ending his life on the spot.

When the Monolith body collapsed on the ground, his blood soiling the concrete under him. Outside, the initiate was observing the ground ahead through his binoculars, but all he saw was a bunch of Zombified wandering aimlessly around the container warehouses and a pack of boars clashing with a pack of dogs. He lowered the binoculars and breathed out. The Zone sure was beautiful, so worth defending, and finally Jupiter as well would be theirs, he thought to himself. The rookie Monolithian slid out a cigarette and lit it to warm himself in the cold winter air. A flash from his match fizzled out. Another flash appeared from behind him, up the hill. The cigarette fell to the ground, followed by drops of blood, until the trooper crashed on top of it.

Lazarus was woken up from a deep sleep by pained groans. A man in an orange and black CBSE-exoskeleton stepped over his now dead comrade, and raised a Kriss Vector submachine gun. Lazarus' brain had barely registered this sight when a muzzle flash engulfed his entire world and turned it into darkness from which the fanatic would not wake from. Before the preacher's corpse had even hit the ground, the attacked slammed new magazine into the gun. Another man in similar colours appeared from further inside the complex, cleaning his knife on a rag.

• Everything clear up there, Yarik?, the exo-user asked of the newcomer.

• Yup, two brainwashed, now bleeding dry in the pipe system. Tushkanos will get a proper meal tonight.

• Good. Let's wait for Tarasov and Kruglov to appear too, I think we got everyone.

Soon enough two more men joined them, one in a never-before seen SSP-10 suit, painted from the original to the more fitting orange and black. The other man was wearing a military-issue Berill suit, painted in similar colours.

• Major, Professor, area is clear. Six fanatics in total, all neutralized.

• Good work Edik. Tarasov, radio Serenity, tell them to land on the railroad if possible. Edik, can you carry the VIP since you've got that exo?, Kruglov asked.

• Yes, professor, but will the VIP survive it? Boghdan has been going on for hours about how it's a miracle he still lives. What if he kicks the bucket while I carry him?

• I talked about this with Boghdan and he says that since we lack proper barrows it's the next best thing. Now get to work or he actually does die on us, Kruglov ordered as the nimble and compact Mi-2MSB helicopter touched down on the railroad.

Edik rushed to help Boghdan Important, the squad medic, in carrying a seemingly lifeless husk of a man towards the complex. Kruglov and Tarasov followed soon behind, while Yarik stayed to guard the complex entrance. For a moment the VIP regained conciousness and looked around with hazy eyes. When his eyes met Kruglov, he managed to whisper:

• Where am I? What is all this?

• You see Boris, I'm a man of science through and through, but as such I know when science can't save you. Still, you aren't as doomed as it seems, there is a place beyond our understanding of science that can save you. The Oasis, my friend.

• Oh, okay, sounds fun... Boris replied before his eyes turned up until only whites showed and he fell back into his slumber.

• Damn, what did you give him?, Tarasov asked, wide-eyed.

• 16 milligrams of morphine, into a muscle, he's as high as Ganja on Bob Marley's birthday, Boghdan replied.

• You know how little that nails it down, every day is Marley's birthday for Freedom, Edik scoffed.

• Congratulations big guy, you got the joke, Boghdan said with a mocking voice.

The group moved into the complex, traversing the decrepit hallways with ease. Kruglov had visited this place with a professors Hermann and Ozersky many years ago, guided by the legendary Major Degtyarev, but they had all agreed not to pursue research on it openly. For once, the ecologists had agreed not to poke and prod one of the miracles of the Zone too much. This was mostly because of the artefact Heart of Oasis, which would regenerate exponentially faster if the area was left alone. The artefact was worth so much more to research than the healing waters of the place itself, which seemed to be a very temporal and coincidental anomaly of sorts. Thus, the area was left alone outside of a few visits to harvest the valuable artefact by Topol's squad.

The mess of pipes and hallways soon gave way to a large room with multiple concrete pillars. Bright sunlight flowed into the room through the roof. Kruglov stopped the group on their tracks and explained how they would progress.

• Follow my lead. We will pass these pillar columns one by one, and a sort of electro-like sparkfall will light up once we pass the correct one. It is trial and error, but such is the nature of science gentlemen. The sparks are not harmful, and once we have a full column of them appearing at every gap, the way into the Oasis is clear. I don't think we need to stress that this must not leak into public. The Oasis is too valuable for us to be a tourist destination.

Everyone nodded and they set off. First column did not cause a reaction. Second one ended up with a large flow of light from second-last gap, and Boghdan gave a little hurrah at the sight. One by one, lights appeared in different parts of the room's column lines, with the final light appearing at the far end of the room. Kruglov led them one last time through the gaps, and through the back hallway one more time. And at the very last turn, the view opened into a completely new room, one where water flowed, trees and bushes bloomed and the air felt fresher than ever in the Zone.

The men did not really have the time to marvel at the sight. Boghdan took Boris into his care and, rather unceremoniously, dumped the man into the water. Slowly, the otherwise pale face of Boris begun to retain warmth, and the wounds on his body begun to close. Ribs rejoined, bulletwounds closed completely and even scars faded away, every small laceration and bruise disappeared. The morphine vanished from the Redemption leader's system, but it was no longer needed. Boris' eyes shot open and he rose up, looking around him confused.

• What? Did I die and go to heaven? Kruglov?, he stammered.

• Last time I checked, God wasn't dressed in a SEVA suit, so no. This is the Oasis. It completely healed you, Kruglov replied with an amused smile.

• Oasis? So the stories are true? I thought it had piles of artefacts and hot naked ladies in it too.

• I mean, Yarik is a pussy but outside of that, haven't seen anything like that here, Edik replied, prompting a punch from Yarik and a chuckle from Boghdan and Tarasov.

• Well, either way, thank you Kruglov. I owe you one, Boris said.

• Considering you just blew the Duga antenna sky-high and saved all of Europe, I'd say were even. Now, Commander, I think you need a bit of rest.

• Truer words were never spoken. Let's get out of here, Boris said.

The squad rose the ladders up and landed on the open field, where the helicopter had arrived as well. Boris rose up into the chopper last, giving one last look at the facility. The battle was won, and miraculously, he had survived. Finally, it was time for a bit of rest. For once.