Chapter CXVII: Ray of Hope

 The Meadow factory was abuzz with action. Tooth, running his small shop by the large machinery near the factory door, was preparing supplies and dispensing drinks to thirsty Redeemed coming back from Dark Valley. Hip, situated in her office at the gate guardpost, was bargaining with Toha over the sale of a Volkspistole 70. Polymer was busy fixing up bent and battered gear, and of course shouting at Redemption rookies who had let sand or mud get into their weapon mechanisms. Stepukha was taking a crash course on exoskeleton use, having donned the horrifying Renegade exoskeleton that Boris had assembled long ago. Reefer, having worked as Limpid's aide, was giving Stepukha his lesson, although it was more of a shouting match between the two ex-bandits.

But despite the chaos on-going in the yard and the factory, the administration building was quiet. The third floor had been turned into faction veteran and leadership centre, with Dimuha occupying an office near the outside staircase. Vova had outfitted one of the rooms for medical facilities, Leva, Toha, Valik and Stepukha had a room for sleeping quarters and Toshka had an "scientific" room for storing and studying artefacts. Zhenka, one of the newer but experienced veterans, ran an ammo depot there as well, while Vetal was in charge of the general supplies. But right now, only Leva and Valik were up there, sleeping in preparation for the journey up north. And in Vova's office, Dimuha sat on an old chair and smoked a cigarette.

His heart was heavy. The surroundings reminded him of his friend Vityukha, Redemption's master medic, still stuck in the space bubble. Dimuha wished he had Vityukha at least with him, the rest of the men considered him their leader, not their friend per se. Ever since he started training everyone to be proper fighters, they could not form a similar bond with him. It was easier to fit in when Boris called the shots, but now? Now he was doing it, and it drained on him. Dimuha's thoughts were interrupted by the cigarette burning his fingers, making him drop it on the ground.

• Blyat Dimuha, I told you not to make a mess here!, Vova said angrily, having just appeared to the door with two plates of tushkano skewers.

• Sorry, sorry. I was lost in my thoughts, Dimuha muttered.

• Besides, I told you not to smoke here. People come here to get better, not to get lung cancer.

• Calm down, I won't do it again. Oh look, you woke up our visitor with that temper tantrum of yours, Dimuha grinned and looked at the man laying on the nearby hospital bed, who was now looking around confused.

• How are you feeling?, Vova asked.

• My entire body is aching, but otherwise good. Hungry, I guess. Where am I?, Psoglav, the ex-Sinner, replied.

• Here, this is for you. Welcome to Meadow, Redemption's little haven in this hellhole, Vova said while passing the man a plate, which the patient wolfed down.

• I understood that you had something to discuss with me?, Dimuha asked as Psoglav emptied his plate.

• Yes. When I first woke up after getting rescued from those... beasts, I remembered your leader. Vova told me of Boris. I feel like it is my duty to help you in rescuing them.

• You know how to get them out of the space bubble?, Dimuha asked, a spark of hope rising in him.

• Not exactly. I am no scientist, I was merely an engineer outside the Zone. But... I know how to get to the War Lab. You see, there is a laboratory under Pripyat, lab X-9. I was stationed there for a short while, right after somebody raided X-8. The laboratory was used to research burers, especially rare subspecies of them. And it had a straight connection to War Lab, through a teleport machine. I know the access codes, due to my training. Get me there, and I will get you into the War Lab.

• But why would you do it? Convince me that we can trust you, Dimuha said with a stern voice.

• I understand. I feel like I am reborn again. As if I am a child once more. When Chernobog converted me, I lived a hollow life. Prayer, guard, killing innocents for some grand cause. I did not feel attachments to my "brothers", I only felt like I needed to do whatever it was Chernobog wanted me to do. A slave to his whims. There was a sense of religious enlightenment too, but the second I was taken away from Sin's influence, I lost it.

• And now you wish to make amends?, Vova asked and Psoglav nodded.

• I can never atone for what I have done. There is too much blood on my hands. But your leader saved me from that existence that was even more wretched than this current state. And I am willing to die to set him free, Psoglav explained, serious look on his face.

• I see. Vova, go fetch the Penitent, Dimuha said, and Psoglav seemed to get a bit shook.

• Penitent?, he asked.

Vova entered the room again, placing a long trenchcoat onto the table. It was coloured in red, with white and green spots. Psoglav looked at it confused, then up to the two Redemption members.

• This, is the Penitent. First suit originating from Redemption. It isn't much, but it has stronger protection than most trenchcoat, and is big enough that you can have a stronger suit underneath, Dimuha explained.

• Okay, but what does it have to do with me?, the ex-Sinner asked.

• It's yours, if you so wish. You'll get a spot in Redemption. Simply agree to serve alongside us, as an actual brother in true brotherhood, working for the betterment of the Zone, to redeem yourself, Dimuha answered with a smile.

• I... I accept, wholeheartedly. I thought I would become a renegade after all I've done. But why all this mercy for me? I'm a zealot and a traitor to stalkers!

• And I am a murderer and a thug. But I am also a commander and a respected warrior. I cannot change my past, but I will change my future or die trying.

• And he is not alone in that. Redemption is for the unhonourable to earn back their honour, for the unredeemable to be redeemed. We bleed together to be better, Vova said.

Psoglav nodded and took the trenchcoat, placing it over his armour. It fit like a glove, and for the first time during the entire conversation, the ex-Sinner smiled. A radiant smile of a relieved man. Dimuha rose up and shook the fresh recruits' hand. One more would join the road towards redemption.

Day later, after hearing from Dimuha, Doctor Oleg Zakarov arrived to Meadow with a squad of ecologist commandos. He had been deeply disturbed by the fact that they had to leave Boris' squad behind, to the point that he had obsessively researched every way of dissipating the anomaly. Professor Hermann had eventually agreed to help him after days of getting bombarded by the distressed ecologist. While Redemption had done their things in the south, Zakarov had become more familiar with the creation of space bubbles, a subject which he had little prior experience with due to his biology background.

Arduous labour and plenty of help from both Hermann and Kruglov got him to a point where a device to dissipate space bubbles was finished. It was similar to the Svarog detector, but different in strength. Svarog could dissipate weak and old space bubbles, but struggled against anything larger than the smallest known form. This new device, dubbed Perun, was much stronger. It had been Hermann's pet project, but it took Zakarov kicking him into gear to get it finished. And with the information provided by Psoglav, the group now had a solid goal. Get to lab X-9, use the teleporter, get to War Labs, shoot up all resistance and use Perun to finish up the anomaly and hopefully recover Redemption leadership. It was not going to be easy, but Dimuha and Zakarov were united by one desire, to see their friends saved. And the risks seemed almost trivial compared to that.