The Baron's men salvaged the forgotten airfield. Much of the parts were military leftovers from an older era, even a broken helicopter was present as well. Ever since their prisoner escaped their captivity, the men there were punished by looking for every item of value behind every box and shelf. Not only did he order them to do that, but he also made it their job to refurbish the old military airfield into a working base.
Saul hated the work that would get into it. The humanimals had infested the area and it would take time to root them out without destroying the buildings they hid inside. A few good men were lost to the damn creatures. Nonetheless, he had to fulfill the Baron's orders, lest he languished in his current position.
His office was the airfield's control tower, where he had a full view of the compound and those working under him, both bandit and slave. They had gathered a large stockpile at the center, enough to impress his boss, but Saul wanted a full inventory so a portion of it could be his and his alone.
One of his men entered the tower. "A message from the boss, he says he wants his loot shipped off right now."
Damn it, there was no time to pick and choose. He looked over his shoulder and nodded his head. "Fetch the truck that was supposed to keep the prisoner. He'll get his cut."
His eyes looked down to see the warehouse have its lights flicker with flashes. Those walking out with the loot had dropped it and reached for their weapons before running inside. Gunfire echoed throughout the building as the bandit realized something was off.
"Belay that. Find whatever men you can find and meet me at the entrance!"
Saul quickly descended from his tower and ran towards the nearest exit out of the building. On his way out, a member of his gang tossed him his rifle as he joined a dozen other men in entering the warehouse. The teleporter that they used for the kidnapping had just turned on, but this time, it was not by their hand. Dark figures hid behind crates near their end and fired on the gang members that exposed themselves.
He quickly ran towards the nearest shelf where the crates were thick enough to hide a group of men. As he peeked around the corner, Saul recognized the style of the enemy he faced. "Shit, it's them! Looks like they didn't like our raid."
A man behind him voiced his thoughts. "As long as we kill enough of them, they'll fall back."
"Have you tried?"
"Not yet. They murdered half my guys before we could respond."
"Do not worry," Saul replied as he blindly fired his rifle overhead, "We'll be getting reinforcements soon."
Another flicker from the teleporter occurred and a closed formation of men stepped out. Unlike the others, they carried these massive shields which shrugged off any shots their way. Behind them were infantry rising above to return fire. "I think you spoke too soon."
"Yeah, no shit," They were clearly outmatched at this moment as his gang tried to resist. A group of idiots rose from behind their boxes and tried to hose down their machine guns on the enemy; however, they maintained their posture before responding with flash grenades. The room rang violently as the leader's eyes were blinded by the light, "Get in the trucks as quick as you can! If you're not with us in five minutes, you're on your own!"
One of his men helped him navigate his way out of the warehouse as he tried to regain his visual senses. Then he looked over his shoulder to see soldiers clad in military gear assault the routed gang. Those that tried to stop them were cut down with precise and discipline shots. These were no mere schmucks, but professional soldiers.
He was brought into the passenger seat of a van and the intensity of the fighting grew. Saul watched helplessly as his men joined him. The entire compound was filled with an exchange of bullets as the gang was forced towards their collection of vehicles parked outside. More soldiers poured out from the warehouse entrance and asserted their dominance in the fight.
When the engines roared to life, the last of the gang managed to drive whatever could get them away from the area. ATVs, vans, trucks - no one complained as the survivors fled into the desert with the dunes on their backs. Fortunately, the enemy did not give chase and hunt them down. Maybe they had no intention of doing so? Nonetheless, the Baron needed to know that he was being invaded on his own turf.
A few days were spend collecting the necessary equipment to help Captain Eduard Baranov, but Artyom knew that relations between Moscow, Novosibirsk, and Vladivostok were relying on him. Thankfully, his skills on the surface of his home city were applicable in this part of Russia. It still took him a while to be acquainted with the few pockets of untainted air as he moved from one hideout full of bandits to the next. What really did not help was the sheer amount of minefields, but it really felt it was just like Moscow.
He strode through a marsh where he would meet the captain. It was quiet, save for the Geiger counter ticking wildly at the concentrations of radiation he had to pass through. Unlike his time in Moscow, Artyom never knew what it was like to wear the old NBC suits he had seen the elite stalkers wear when they could afford it. The weight did more to tire him out than the number of weapons he carried. As he reached the end of the marsh that met with the sea, he dropped onto one knee and scanned his surroundings. Only an exposed slab of rock was the platform he had if he was attacked.
What relieved him of pressure was a horn being blasted behind his back. Then he turned his head and saw Captain Baranov driving a tugboat nearby. Then he closed the distance and opened up the ramp as Artyom hopped inside with an extra set of NBC with him. "Good, you got the suits. Take the wheel as I change."
The Polis Ranger laid out the equipment onto a pile of crates as he slipped past the old officer towards the steering wheel. While Eduard continued to change, he maintained course towards their destination towards the old and decrepit naval facility. "Where will we be checking in?"
"We will be using the sea entrance. It is the only place that is not flooded and where both of us can get out as quickly as possible if things get awry," He answered as the voice was now muffled by the gas mask. When he finished, he joined Artyom at the front with a map in hand, "We might make this our last trip. So I have to ask, what do you think about your relationship with that queen of yours?"
He was taken aback by the question to the point he was unable to answer; however, he still needed to speak. "What do you mean, captain?"
Eduard laughed at his confusion. "A soul always comes across moments like these when they have someone close. You drew that girl in that journal of yours and you don't seem to notice that. It can't be because of politics, but it definitely could be that you consider it important to you."
"I don't know. It never really occurred to me as to why I found it important to draw her," His eyes were still on the waters in front of them, but Artyom's mind was on the question, "There is not a way to describe it."
"You're definitely not the kind of person to express their feelings openly," The captain's tone changed as brandished a map from his boat, "It's called love. You're trying to find a way to fit it somewhere in your mental social circle, but it's shifting between lines that are making you uncomfortable. Don't worry, you'll figure it out when you meet her again."
He turned his head towards the masked captain. "Well, I don't know what to say to that."
The old naval officer patted him on the back. "You seem like a nice guy behind the scary stalker get-up. I figure you'll have the time to tell her when you do. The least I could do since I wasted my life already."
"Don't be like that, there is still something worth looking forward to."
"I am still talking about love, but there is a bit of caution about it if you do invest the time into it," Eduard replied, "Avoid getting married to your job. It is the greatest sin of a soldier to neglect the lives of those you care about and who do the same for you. My love was for my ship, but duty and principle have made me live out in these parts like a hermit. Maybe it's pride that has blinded my view of the world? I don't know. This old bag of bones had their chance."
The duo found the sea entrance to the facility as the captain turned on the tugboat's lights. Artyom reached for his holster, brandishing a new pistol he gained from Tom's armory. As they went inside, the Polis Ranger needed information on this place. "In my experience, there is always something living in these parts. Anything I should know about?"
Eduard brandished his double-barrelled shotgun and checked the ammo inside. "Zap spiders, they are huge spiders that can harness electrical energy. You can tell they're around if the light sources are flickering or out altogether. Kill them first, it will make everything else easier."
"It would be nice if I had a flamethrower. It would make everything easier."
He let out a chuckle. "Come now. It wouldn't be a lair of some beasts if brave men didn't have some kind of monster to fight for its treasure."
It was still difficult to acclimatize to this land. Anna sat on a bed within the confines of a lighthouse, parched of thirst until she looked out of the surrounding windows to see Giul rise up to the tower on her boat-elevator with a pair of binoculars in one hand and a canteen in the other. She walked up and handed it to her. "Here, I managed to take this off some of the Munai-bailer nearby. Looks like they came out from a nearby well."
Upon receiving it, the princess felt the cold touch in her hands as she unscrewed the top and took small sips of it. "Thank you, I am still not used to this place."
"You're welcome," Giul walked out to the railings outside of the glass room and looked through her binocular, "There seems to be fighting against the Munai-bailer at the warehouse. It is good that we left."
Anna considered who her kidnappers were fighting and rose to her feet. "Were you able to make them out?"
She shook her head. "No. Do you know them?"
"They might be friends of mine," The princess suggested, "Perhaps they're looking for me right now, and maybe we can go to them."
"It is too dangerous. The Munai-bailer controls much of the area between us and that warehouse and we are just two people."
"I can't just stay here. My sister will want to know about me."
Giul remained unconvinced. "The Baron wants me dead and I cannot risk the danger that comes with that. Perhaps if they come closer, but the need to free my people comes first."
Every time that Artyom breathed, the gas mask fogged up, and the young man had to pause just to see clearly. Traversing through each room was a hazardous task as he had to check for any opening these large spiders came out from and it was a good thing the lights scared them away. There was just no possible way for him to kill them all with his bullets. Every now and then, he would sense the lights flicker for a moment, only to pass and leave the lights on.
He slipped into some kind of control room where there were consoles full of meters and control switches. As he walked towards one station, the captain contacted him on the radio. "Are you in the generator room, Artyom?"
His hand quickly reached for the piece and spoke. "Yes, what am I looking for."
"There should be a master switch. Try to turn it on," Fortunately, there was a massive switch between the two consoles. When he reached out to turn the lights from red to green, the screen in front of him was attacked from the other side. A spider latched on and tried to reach out through its fangs, but the screen was much stronger than that. Yet, Artyom's instinctive reaction was a few bursts from his Kalashnikov, "Good job. There should be a lift there, use it to get to the main channel. We'll meet up there and get the fuel rods."
"Ladna, coming down."
Yellow lights flickered from behind his back and he quickly took the elevator and directing the switch downwards. As he waited to reach his destination, the Polis Ranger found himself passing through the floor. Suddenly, the lights began to shut down on the far side of the room and a moving electrical light sucked everything in the room, including the power to the elevator.
It was the zap spider Eduard spoke of. When it noticed his presence, it immediately screamed at him before raising its tail and firing an electrical projectile at him. Artyom could not duck in time as it hit him in the chest and felt the electrical current ripping into his body. He yelled in agonizing pain as his adrenaline demanded vengeance when he raised his assault rifle and fired three shots into its hide. The electrical energy that was contained in its body was sapped away and the power returned. Yet, the elevator strangely felt… off. There was no way to describe it, but Artyom did not know what was going on.
A moment later, the elevator lost its structural integrity as it rushed towards the bottom. He tried to hold on to anything; however, the young man knew his odds of survival would be low. Then the impact hit him. It was not the first he encountered such a moment, but it was still as unpleasant. There was something about the crash that made him want to sleep; tempting as it was, the Geiger counter intensified with the clicking was enough of an incentive to get out.
Artyom rose from the ground and slipped out of the crashed elevator as he entered the hallway to find an opening ahead. When the Ranger reached the other side, there was a crane system in front of him and an opened submarine. He saw Captain Baranov busy himself on the boat and moved enough to make room. Eduard looked up and saw him. "Find the power for the crane and we'll get this over! It should be up there."
He looked around to see what was important on the catwalk he stood on. On his left, there was a panel that deserved an investigation. Artyom quickly ran over to discover it was for the crane. "I found it."
The soldier reached for his universal charger and attached the wires into the panel before charging the system. As his hands continued to pump electricity, there was a trilling noise from behind his back. He instinctually reached for his holstered semi-auto pistol and looked behind to find a spider trying to gain the upper hand. Artyom fired away, watching as the bug's carapace was torn apart by the bullet's capabilities. Even a leg found itself separated from its host.
When it was over, the crane within the room began to move as it reached out for the rods inside the idle submarine. Captain Baranov expressed his excitement. "We finally did it! Keep up the good work."
He looked down to find the rods were extracted and carefully guided towards the tugboat. "Is it safe to move it now?"
"Yes. It could be worse, but we managed," After the tugboat obtained the fuel, the captain looked up at him gave him a thumbs up, "Take the lift down and we'll go."
The young man walked over to the railing and vaulted over, landing in the water near the boat. Eduard came over to help him out of the radioactive water and dragged him on board before he took the wheel. At the same time, Artyom took a seat beside the old naval officer.
"I suppose you could do that as well."
He let out a slight chuckle underneath the gas mask, but it was over, and didn't have to stay at this place any longer. When the tugboat roared to life, it was refreshing to see the light again and the open seas. "Should we tell Tom now that we're done?"
The captain looked down and paused for a moment. "Yes, I think it is time."
Artyom reached for his radio and changed the frequency. "Tom, it's me."
The American's voice was refreshing after all of this time. "Artyom, do you have any news for me?"
"Yes, Captain Baranov and I have the fuel rods. We're coming to you as quick as we can."
"Understood," He acknowledged, "We will prepare in an hour."
The moment the radio was turned off, Eduard looked ahead with a few words that caused more discomfort than it should have. "Oh, shit."
The Ranger rose from his seat and readied his weapon. "What's wrong?!"
His hand was pointed towards the area ahead of them. Dark clouds bode poorly for the duo on the tugboat as rain and thunder began to take place. "This is no mere storm, young man. It's a blowout, an anomaly that is just as dangerous as the regular storms."
"I can feel that this one is different," The energy here was unlike any he had ever experienced, not even his time with Khan could match this, "Should we tell Tom to hold off?"
"No," Eduard answered, "Stay calm and we'll live. Fetch the cables in the back and tie the fuel roads down as much as you can. Not even this will stop us."
The winds began to swirl as birds and beasts were being sucked away into the immense vortex that lay ahead of them. Even the tides of the sea were not enough to save the duo from its reach as Artyom quickly grabbed the cables and wrapped them around the container full of fuel rods.
Saul entered the Baron's court as he sat atop of his throne, surrounded by an assortment of slave-girls at the service of their… ruler. The Baron was an old man carrying a cane in one hand and a cup in the other. Whatever hair he once had on his scalp was now an empty bald figure, which shared a lot in common with the desert. He was surrounded by guards and willing slaves, both of who were willing to fight and die for him if needed. Well, more of the guards than the slaves.
In the back of the room was a painting of the man himself, a symbol to the slaves, but a propaganda tool for the gangs. His throne was the soul power of the oil rig and it would take much to get rid of it.
When Saul was at the center of the room, the Baron took a sip of his drink and turned his head towards his lieutenant. "I received a call that we were under attack. Is that right?"
The raider nodded his head. There was a vain hope that the Baron was willing to give him a chance and find payback for the losses back there. "Yes. The warehouse has been lost, but I intend to get payback when I can."
He smiled for a moment. "I like your enthusiasm, but no need to do so. All of us will get their chance."
There was a bit of surprise when he said that. "Boss, we need to take it back."
"I know we do," The Baron replied, "But an associate of mine has offered a plan to deal with these assholes soon enough. We have time on our side and they don't. Tell your men to get some good rest, drink, food, and whatever girls you would like. All of us are going to have a busy week ahead of us, but it will be worth it in the end."
Just what was the boss trying to say? It let more confusion than answers after telling him the situation.
Author's Note: Please leave a comment when you can. It would be well-appreciated.