Three snork corpses rotted inside the Blackwater anomaly, reminder of yet another failed raid by the mutants on the Yantar laboratory. The bloated carcasses waved along with the ripples created by a Mi-2 helicopter, approaching the bunker slowly from the north. In its side, the blue and red vial of Ecologist faction patch was visible. It landed on the bunker roof, the rotors spinning lazily as its pilot, Captain Sokolov, jumped out of the chopper, unlocking his helmet and taking a look at the gloomy valley. It was just as depression-filled as always, the Miracle Machine facility looming in the distance while dead trees and abandoned construction equipment decomposed around it. Only snorks, Zombified and Ecologists willingly made their homes here.

Once finished with his scanning of the surrounding area, Sokolov turned his attention to the base itself. The usual ISKRA squads patrolled the base, reinforced by Hatchet's Eco-Mercenaries, as they were jokingly called, and Applied Science Division specialists. Kruglov's special operations squad, the ecologist commandoes led by Major Tarasov, were hanging by Spirit's mobile kitchen, talking with some stalkers in odd camouflage pattern. Sokolov presumed them to be his passengers today. He was not well-versed with Zone's factions, having only returned couple months ago to the Zone after his old friend Tarasov asked him to join the reorganized ecologists.

Sokolov had left the military after getting shot down in Limansk by the mercs, who he then avoided for roughly a week before finding help from an army checkpoint. He had a good job offer from one airline operating in Ukraine, and took his chance. But when the Zone expanded during the so-called Third Emission, the airlines lost one plane to said disaster. A passenger plane had gotten lost in the storm and been hit by the emission, losing all passengers and personnel on board. Sokolov had returned to help the ecologists, partly out of respect for his old comrades still fighting the Zone, partly out of patriotic sense of duty. The Mi-2 was not as fearsome as the Hind he had flown as part of Operation Fairway, but Sokolov had learned that in the Zone, 12.7 mm chaingun and added armour did little against anomalies and zealots with sci-fi guns.

He descended the ladder and joined the group below. Tarasov greeted him warmly, his yellow and blue Berill far less aggressive than the old camo pattern he had worn in Pripyat. The major explained that the men accompanying him were part of Redemption, one of Ecologists' most stalwart allies and part of the reason Sin was finally defeated. While Tarasov could not disclose the reason for their transfer to Outskirts, it was of utmost importance. Sokolov nodded and introduced himself to the men.

"Boris Unforgiven, leader of Redemption. These two domeheads are Sanyok and Dima, my right and left hand, that one is Dimka, our pathfinder, and his spotter Sevka. Felka is another heavy weapons enjoyer in my squad. Stepukha here will return to our base of operations as we need someone in command there, but we waiting for two more men to arrive.", Boris introduced his group, and Sokolov nodded once more in approval.

"The Hoplite can carry eight guys, right?", Sanyok asked.

"Indeed. Familiar bird, is it?", Sokolov replied with a prideful grin as he looked at the helicopter.

"Yes. Used to fly on board one in Myanmar, back in the bad days. Militaires Sans Frontières operated a couple, and us basic mercs hitched rides on board them if time was of the essence.", Sanyok recounted, making Sokolov raise his eyebrow, making Sanyok continue.

"I was a bomb and mine defuser there. It was good work too, far less pay than in the Zone but actually felt like I was making a change in the world. Only got that feeling back once I joined Redemption."

"You guys will have to explain the gist of your faction to me on the way, I'm very much out of the loop with the Zone. I know an old friend of mine started one back in the day, but that's about it, all I know it has something to do with un-brainwashed Monolith.", Sokolov commented.

"Noon? You've met Strider?", Boris asked in amazement.

The pilot nodded, but before he could continue further, two men in similar camo pattern to Boris' squad appeared through the bunker gate. Sokolov had a hard time following what happened next, as the men with phoenix patches started clamouring like a horde of startled fleshes. Dimuha and Vityukha had returned from their mission, and all four of the old guard of Redemption present greeted them with such joy and volume that many ecologists sought to escape the racket inside the sound-proofed bunker. Boris embraced his oldest friends in the Zone, and they laughed the relieved laughter of men, whose burden of doubt had been lifted and worst fears proven wrong.

"Yeah, these guys are a rowdy bunch, Vasyl. You get used to it, and while I don't want you to tell anyone I said this, I would rather fight with them than most others. We saved that Boris guy after he had fought for a week against Sin. His body was full of shrapnel, bullet wounds and lacerations, on the brink of death, yet he had kept pushing forever. He is a machine, reminds me of the old Majo-... Colonel. Strictly speaking, he and his team aren't supposes to go to Pripyat, per the orders of Alexander, but I've seen what Alex is hunting. And he needs the extra help, even if he thinks otherwise.", Tarasov mused as the Redeemed were out of hearing distance.

"Wait... You got me into a mission that goes against the wishes of not only the Secret Service, but Alexander as well? Chyort, Mikhailo, I know we go way back but this is a bit rich. I didn't leave the comfort of my airplane cabin just to commit treason, blyat.", Sokolov said, disappointed and angry.

"Fret not, you only need to drop these guys to Pripyat and leave. Simple mission, Degtyarev does not need to find out about it.", Tarasov tried to be placative.

"You should've left for that Afghanistan mission, brother, we really do not need to bait going to military prison like this for a bunch of illegals."

"Thing is... We owe this guys so much that when they asked, very, very enthustiastically, that they needed a lift to Pripyat to fight yet another global threat to the Zone, I could not disagree. And you airlifting them there is the best way to do this discreetly.", Tarasov replied, and as Sokolov was preparing yet another angry remark, the large man in even larger exoskeleton marched over to the pilot.

"You ready, Captain? We, uh, had our happy little reunion now, and are ready to leave. In case you still wish to drop us there. I understand that you may be sceptical to all this, but without going into too much detail, we are there to right the wrongs of betrayal. One that concerns not only us, but the faction Strider formed, for our enemy slaughtered their men too.", Boris said, and surprise flashed in Sokolov's eyes.

"I must say, this is the most unorthodox and unwelcome mission of my career, but I cannot deprive a man his shot at, uh, redemption, I guess. I had mine in the Jupiter underground, so long ago. Eh, I am sure I will come to regret this, but let's go, Valkyrie will take you to Pripyat.", Sokolov agreed finally.

The Redeemed rejoiced, and the men with all their equipment crammed into the small helicopter. Sokolov looked at the ruckus with concern, wondering if his "Valkyrie" could take such a heavy load. After some preparations and pre-flight checks, the little chopper turned its engines back on and took off, struggling slightly under the load but managing to go airborne without too dangerous types of issues.

Tarasov watched the squad depart, still unsure as to whether he had made the right choice or not. Still, he knew his friend Colonel Degtyarev, and he knew that the man did not recognize his limits, no matter how far he was able to stretch them. While Tarasov did not know everything going on with UNISG, he knew that the SSU squad permitted into the Zone was outmatched in numbers by far. Tarasov sighed and took out his flask, immediately showing Spirit the middle finger as he saw the alcoholic chef's eyes sparkle. He took a sip and wished the Redeemed luck silently inside his mind.

Inside the helicopter, the passengers were very much in high spirits. Dimuha and Vityukha recounted their experiences as well as they could over the sound of the engines, occasionally interrupted by a terrible joke from Dima or a quick question from Felka or Sanyok. Boris listened to this conversation with one ear, while retelling the events that led to the creation of Redemption and the actions of the faction since then to Sokolov.

The pilot paid close attention as much as he could while avoiding airborne anomalies. Sokolov was ashtonished by the progress Boris' faction had made, but Boris was quick to remind him that none of their achievements had been completely self-made, and only through the shifting alliances of the Zone, conflicts like the siege of Limansk had been won. In turn, Sokolov detailed some of the things that had taken place during Operation Fairway and the aftermath of it. While he did not say it out loud, it made Boris respect Colonel Degtyarev even more.

Sanyok and Boris soon swapped seats, however, as the Redemeed's to-be scientific specialist was particularly keen on the enhanced anomaly detector mounted into the Valkyrie. Once the two mathematically-minded people got talking, it boggled Boris just how much technological jargon they could fit in one sentence. He quickly retreated to the comfort of a more down-to-earth, as much as one can in a helicopter, conversation flowing between Dimuha, Vityukha, Dima and Felka.

"So yes, our mission was utter failure. But we met this one Guevara guy, who wanted to follow us. Still, he was quite shocked by the events we endured, so I sent him to Meadow to rest a bit.", Dimuha explained.

"Yet you two came with us? Despite all the exhaustion you must be feeling?", Boris asked.

"I needed something else to think about after all that in Chornobyl. So many people we met there lost their lives, and we encountered something I cannot quite explain. Those men in the village, the odd rust-covered armours and guns... This Futility cult Dima mentioned seems to somehow be connected to them. We need to learn more of it, but for the time being, I want to focus on something simpler, killing traitors and bastards like those UNISG assholes.", Dimuha scowled.

"We will find that cult you ran into, and we will deal with them. But one threat at a time.", Boris replied, and his oldest friend since becoming a renegade nodded.

"I know. Or I hope so, more like. I do not know how those people got the emitter back on, but judging by what Orlov told you guys in the space bubble and what we saw in Chornobyl, it is just as dangerous as the Scorcher but more sinister. And its guardians are just as fearsome as the Monolith.", Dimuha continued.

"Gentlemen, we are nearing Pripyat. Prepare for landing, there seems to be a battle raging down there. Looks like Monolith, Sin and some guys I don't recognize are fighting over the building blocks in-between book store and laundromat. Our only real option is touching down on the building next to the laundromat, get ready!", Sokolov's voice echoed inside the chopper, making everyone reach for their weapons.

The silent blocky buildings of Pripyat contrasted the fighting going on around them, with gunshots echoing in old rooms and retreating through the broken windows. Sin had returned en masse, recuperating their losses after the campaign in the north. They were still weak, but their fanaticism was as strong as ever. As the chopper lowered itself in-between the buildings, the fanatical allies diverted their forces towards it. The aircraft was now hovering over the low but large house next to the laundromat, and Boris jerked the door open, jumping outside. His exoskeleton dampened the slam into the ground. Boris could hear Felka follow in similarly violent fashion, the whole building shaking slightly as the two gigants in exoskeletons dropped on it.

"RPG, twelve o'clock, blyat!", Dima's voice echoed in the radio, and Boris turned his face towards the street leading to the laundromat.

A Monolith warrior had kneeled down, taking aim with an RPG-7, the scope on it flashing in the daylight. Felka opened fire, missing the man but making him panic, as much as a Monolith trooper can. His comrades opened fire at Boris and Felka, bullets peppering the roof they stood on. Boris jumped down and prepared his RPD, when the sound of a rocket being fired echoed between the large building blocks. Sokolov made the chopper lurch aggressively to the left, the rocket sailing by with merely a metre of space in between it and the helicopter. The pilot pushed Valkyrie to its limits, and the rocket pods mounted on its sides, a special feature of Ecologits Mi-2 variant, replied in kind. The street was swept clean of life with the salvo, the fanatical warriors perishing in a blaze.

Cheers could be heard on Boris' suit radio, but celebrations were premature as a lone survivor of the Monolith squad crawled on, his legs blown off, holding on with sheer willpower. Before anyone noticed the grievously wounded zealot, he had snatched a PKP machine gun of his fallen comrade and opened fire. Bullets peppered the hull of the Valkyrie, and Sokolov yelped in pain as one of the penetrated the bullet-proof windows, striking him in the arm. The helicopter began ascending as the wounded pilot struggled to get out of the fire. Boris' RPD barked in return, and the wounded Monolith soldier breathed his last breath as the helicopter disappeared over the buildings. It was waving from side-to-side as Sokolov sought to stabilize it with his only working arm.

Boris and Felka jumped off the roof, intent on following the helicopter as they could still hear its rotors and engine going on in the distance. Thumping down on the ground, they had planned to take off running immediately, but the four or so barrels pointing at them spoke of a different idea. Two men in SEVA suits and one in a exosuit with a Sphere helmet stared at them blankly, emotions obscured by their headgear, but one face was more than familiar to Boris. It belonged to the most legendary stalker to have ever lived, Strelok.

"Boris? Care to explain what the hell all this racket is about?", Strelok asked.

"You. We've got bad news.", Boris replied bluntly.

"Me? Why?", Strelok questioned again.

"We have learned that international infiltrators are seeking to kill or capture you. They're already actively hunting you, have been for days or weeks.", Boris answered, his voice grave.

"International infiltrators? Like we don't have enough problems as is.", Strelok commented.

"How so?", it was Boris' time to ask.

"Sin and Monolith are seeking to reclaim the city, and we have some sort of psychic interference going on in the hospital too. Stitch and Rogue went missing there... Oh shit... Could it be that those internationals captured them then?", Strelok asked.

"I don't know, and right now, I've got bigger fish to fry. My squad was in that chopper, Strelok, and I'm not even sure they survived, so let me go after them and we'll talk later. As important as keeping you alive is, I cannot abandon my men either.", Boris said.

"I-... I agree. I would come with you, but if what you said is true, we may need to hunker down. Godspeed, Boris. We'll discuss this later. But... if you can, please try to find Stitch and Rogue while you scour the city. I cannot lose another comrades like I've done twice already.", Strelok said, and Boris could hear sadness in his voice.

"I will. Stay here, don't let any strangers in, keep your guns ready. We'll be back and figure out what to do with this shitshow.", Boris replied, and with that, he and Felka took off, sprinting further into the city.

On the other side of the city, a helicopter rotor spun weakly over an old basketball field. The wreckage was intact, and miraculously, the vehicle had avoided the most important key for survival, not bursting in flames from the fuel leaking out. The men inside were worse for wear, however, with only the pilot, Sokolov, still concious. He looked at the scene, feeling the world rapidly fade away, and all he could think was "not this again". As he slipped into the merciful unconciousness, a creature most of the Zone had never seen closed in on the wreck.