Pathfinder: Diary of Dimka Torodov

  Diary of Lance Corporal Dimka Torodov, day 12. The journey from Zaton to Jupiter took us roughly a night since we were quite lost and had to circle a lot of anomaly fields. Still, we did scavenge through a few abandoned vehicles and found some supplies and other materials, so it wasn't a complete waste of time. Or at least that is our story and we're sticking to it. Sevka got some 20-gauge ammo for his TOZ from a beaten up UAZ jeep, a guy inside had decided to end it all with a similar TOZ, which by now was a rusted piece of junk. The markings on the man's armour reminded me of Ukrainian Speznaz, but the choice of weapon was odd. Still, everyone gets by with what they have in the Zone, UNISG being the prime example of this. At the crack of dawn we arrived to the place named after a Roman god, which had been stolen from Greek mythology. Odd name for an area in the middle of Ukraine, but hey, could be worse, could've been called literally Garbage. At first glance, the p...

  Diary of Lance Corporal Dimka Torodov, day ten still continues on... Sevka and I stepped inside the marketplace, where things looked like they had been hit by a hurricane. Mercs gazed out of the windows, weapons raised and prepared for anything. One of them looked at us and I nodded to him, encouraging him to ask what he clearly was thinking. The goliath is dead?, he asked. Yes, we got it killed. Same with some sort of two-headed monster that killed one of your men in the monoblock, Sevka replied. Chimera? Man, good job, those things are like the top predators of this cursed shithole. Really? The big-ass boar was more of a pain to kill. It killed one of your exoskeleton men and two regular guys before we could even react, I commented. Yuri Voldemort's squad? Damn, that's a shame, man was a proper urod but also one hell of a fighter. We survived many a mission together, but I left his squad when I was supposed to join Redemption... That plan went to shit though, the merc scoff...

  Diary of Lance Corporal Dimka Torodov, day ten... I think. We dashed across the Dead City streets in pursuit of the beast that had brutalized the poor merc. I switched into my Saiga, although I did wonder if 20-gauge would be enough for such a monster. Sevka kept his Saiga steady as well, his was more potent 12-gauge. We passed by the remains of the merc, and I noted the clawmarks on his body with a shudder. My suboptimal Voyager would be shredded in seconds against this kind of force. The monstrous mutant had turned to face us and leaped towards us as we rounded the corner. I barely dodged it, making a dash to the side in split second. The Voyager would not have the armour to stop the thing's claws, but at least it made me nimble and quick on my feet. Before the mutant could turn, Sevka and I lit it up, tearing large chunks off its hide and making it growl in pain. It lunged at us again, and learning from our earlier blunder we dashed to the side, again. It could not pick a targ...

  Diary of Lance Corporal Dimka Torodov, day... I don't even know anymore. The Zone feels hostile, and the Zone feels like home. Never in my life have I felt this conflicted. This place is more dangerous than an Australian jungle and yet I feel more complete here. Sevka doesn't share my enthusiasm, he keeps bickering about the mission every time I stop to wonder an anomaly or to inspect an abandoned house but hell, how could I not? This is the most unique place in the world. Yet the feeling of dread fills me equally, everything here could kill me. Fanatics, bandits, fellow stalkers and Duty if they found out who I really was, mutants, anomalies, the list goes on. Well anyway, enough of my ramblings. I just felt like I needed to vent this into the diary, I dare not open up to Sevka about such things. We arrived to Dead City during the night. It is creepy, and the mercs remind me of the PMCs we saw in Liberia, thugs disguised as professional soldiers. Some look like they're p...

  Diary of Lance Corporal Dimka Torodov, day 9 I woke up inside a Duty medbay. Aspirin came to check in on me not soon after, and De Luca was with him. They explained that the wounds inflicted on me by Skull had been severe, but not mortally so. De Luca had gone to look for me, painfully slowly because of his own wounds, and managed to drag me to the Duty outpost with difficulty so that they in turn could drag me to Aspirin. You really went in there to save me?, I asked De Luca, surprised. You're my subo... comrade here too, I look after those. Besides, you saved my ass once, I save yours now, that way I won't have to be in debt to your sorry ass, De Luca said sternly. I see. Well, Doc, how long till I can get out of this bunk? My ass is itching like crazy, you sure there's no fleas here? Fleas or not, you're not leaving until tomorrow. Skull got you pretty bad, although you did do his entire squad in. Voronin is pretty impressed even, although don't expect him to t...