At the edge of the Zone's northernmost point, a small Soviet-era Lada threw itself through a curving road at breakneck speeds. Its front lights swept the forest road, its driver looking for a familiar sight. Bushes, trees and rocks jutted off the roadside with no distinguishing features in between the many, many kilometres of road. Eventually, however, the familiar red and yellow sign with a radiation sign came into the cone of the car's lights. A gate, rusted and partially collapsed, loomed in front of the lights, warning travellers not to cross into the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

"Well well, looks like our luck did not run out today, Borya old pal. This section of the fence is not often guarded, and for those few times it has been manned, I have been able to bribe the conscripts to pass. This is about the easiest way to get into the Zone, believe me.", the old man driving the car said approvingly.

"And where do I go from here?", Boris asked, sliding his MASKA helmet over his head.

"You can get to a stalker outpost down the road. There's a colleague of my grandson there, Raccoon, who will guide you to Meadow for a price. I'm no Zone expert but I wager it'd take roughly half a day, so you'll be there by noon.", Pilot's grandfather, Gennadiy, explained.

"Thank you, again. Without this ride I would've taken far longer to get here.", Boris thanked the man sincerely.

"I still don't understand why you are so hellbent on returning, but then again I never understood Pilot's reasons either. I went to the Zone once, when I was a bit younger, and it was horrific. Yet you people behave like there is some grand pull to it.", the driver commented with a smirk.

"There is. Yet it can't be explained, it's part of the Zone. The Zone calls, and you get an urge that cannot be resisted. Simple really.", Boris replied nonchalantly.

"Eh, sounds like lunacy to me. But anyway, you better get going before Private Konscriptovich nails us for idling the engine here. Good luck, laddie, you'll need it with that death wish.", Gennadiy said, prompting a scoff from Boris.

"Thanks, I guess. See you around, dedushka."

Boris stepped out of the car and closed the door behind him. The Lada backed up a bit and turned back towards the Big Land. The Redemption leader watched it leave, and when the lights finally faded into the dark forest, he began trudging down the road. Flipping his night-vision on, Boris travelled down the road in the pale white and black field of view of the device, only accompanied by the humming coming from the machine and the whirring of his exoskeleton. The forest was quiet around him, especially for the Zone, but the border areas outside of Cordon rarely attracted much in the form of stalkers or mutants anyway. Still, it paid to be careful, and Boris kept the Val rifle loaned to him by Dima at attention. The darkness did not unnerve him, but he could feel the lack of sleep get to him a bit. He took one of the energy drinks he had bought in Minsk and gulped it down quickly, feeling the unhealthy stimulants give him strength to fight the dark's sleep-inducing potential.

The road rolled onwards, not really changing much. At times, a lone anomaly appeared from up ahead, avoided easily with the use of bolts. Boris saw one particular anomaly drag the bolt in and contort it into a slab of bent metal before spitting it out. Oddly enough, when Boris got close to it, his detector notified him of an artifact, and upon picking up the bolt, he saw that it had some radioactive properties.

"I'll give it to Sanyok for analysis, then. An anomalous bolt, that's a first.", Boris thought to himself and sealed the bolt into radiation-proofed bag designed to hold anomalous samples.

His journey continued for an hour more, until a faint light flickered between the trees. Fearing a military patrol, Boris hid into the bushes and observed the light. After confirming that it did not move, he got closer and checked it with his binoculars, seeing a small stalker camp. The radiation patches on the men's arms confirmed that they would not be likely to shoot him, and thus Boris approached cautiously, raising his hands before coming to the light.

"Who goes there?", one of the guards shouted.

"Boris Unforgiven, leader of Redemption. Do not shoot.", Boris replied.

"Huh, what's that? Never heard of 'em.", a guy in Graphite suit with a Sphere helmet queried.

"It's a long story, one I'm in far too much of a rush to tell. Anyway, if you need any proof I'm on your side, here's a message from Wolf confirming us to be allies with free stalkers unless proven otherwise.", Boris said and showed them an old message from the legendary Rookie village guardian.

"Looks credible. And I'm not really in the mood to have a scrap with someone wearing what looks to be a stripped battle tank, so come on in. Welcome to the Sunshine outpost.", another man in jury-rigged scientific suit said, holding an L86 light machine gun over his shoulder.

"Sunshine outpost? Pretty scenic name for a place in the Zone. Or is it ironic? Anyway, I'm looking for Raccoon, is he around? I need to get to Meadow.", Boris responded.

"Yeah, it's ironic, this place is gloomy as shit. Raccoon's in that tent, near the UAZ van.", the Graphite stalker said.

Boris thanked them and passed the improvised roadblock made of a destroyed car and wooden constructs in the shape of a tank trap, resembling Czech hedgehogs. Normally these types of areas were only inhabited by rookie stalkers, but Boris suspected that Gennadiy's drop-off point had something to do with this outpost being so well-guarded. He walked up to the tent that had been indicated to him, and tapped on the fabric since there was nothing to knock on. A man with a short stubble and bloodshot eyes peered out, meeting Boris' eyes.

"Raccoon?", Boris asked.

"Yeh, who's asking?", the man replied.

"Boris Unforgiven, boss of Redemption. I need to get to Meadow. I know it's late but Gennadiy pointed me towards you and I can pay extra for services if we get there quick."

"Ah, I've heard of your lads but never went to Meadow after you set up there. Uh, let me grab some of my stuff and we can go, I just came back from a mission and tried to get some rest but more cash wouldn't hurt.", Raccoon replied, scratching his brown hair under the Wastelander suit's hood.

Boris sat on the roadside for the while to wait, observing the camp as he did so. It was a small affair, a roadblock, small scattering of tents and couple broken vehicles. Still, the stalkers visible around the camp were far more experienced than was standard for this type of area in the Zone. Boris decided to ask Raccoon about it later. Soon enough, Boris heard the rustling of tent canvas and Raccoon stepped out, fully kitted out. Guides could be recognized easily by the difference in equipment they carried compared to normal stalkers. Custom compasses, a navigation tool that could work even during various anomalous weather phenomena, upgraded Porewit anomaly detector and other less fancy tools such as ropes and flares were commonplace for guides, and Raccoon complemented this arsenal with a machete hanging from his hip.

"Let's go, then. We'll discuss the fee while we get there, but don't worry, I won't rob you blind in any case.", Raccoon said, and Boris nodded.

They left further down the road as the night was finally beginning to give way for day. As the lighting improved, Boris could take a look at the area better. Not that there was much to see, the area was mostly woodlands with the occasional large rock, stone or cliff jutting out of the ground. Some abandoned husks of vehicles lay here and there, but for the most part the roadside was empty. Both stalkers barely spoke a word during the night-time portion of their journey, but once sunrays began seeping through the foliage, Raccoon became chattier. He explained that not far from here was an area known as Thicket, a mostly irrelevant yet dangerous woodlands, which was for some reason guarded by the mercs. The road would curve through it, and Raccoon warned Boris to be prepared in case the mercs were hostile.

"I'll negotiate if it comes to that. Dushman and I have an arrangement, I used to work for him and his men leave me and my men alone.", Boris replied.

"Used to work for Dushman? Damn, should've told me that from the get-go, I'm not sure I want to associate with bloodhounds. Yet your connection may not help, these mercs seem to work for someone else.", Raccoon commented.

"Huh, I thought all mercs work for Dushy. Guess his rule isn't as absolute as he thought.", Boris said and shrugged.

They continued further down the road as Boris explained why he had worked for Dushman. Only after he told of Redemption and its mission did Raccoon let go of his suspicious impression. Raccoon replied that it seemed Boris was one of the few good mercs then, and again Boris simply shrugged. Minutes later, they arrived to the beginning of a small path leading further into the thick, ancient forest, and swiping aside the overgrown flora with his machete, Raccoon led Boris onward. They marched up a hill and stumbled upon an awe-inspiring sight, with rolling hills and scenic tall pines and spruces. It was an extreme of highs and lows, with deep valleys and almost mountain-like hills, and not a single human structure or contraption in sight.

"Damn... What a sight.", Boris gasped.

"Indeed. I don't come here often due to the dangers, but it really is a sight to behold. Some say there's an extensive cave network beneath this place, and I don't doubt it, it's such a varied landscape. Anyways, I think we have a couple more hours to Meadow, shall we rest for a minute?", Raccoon asked, and Boris grunted in approval.

The two stalkers sat down for a moment, Boris eating a bar of chocolate bought from Minsk while Raccoon consulted his maps. Boris kept an eye open for any dangers, which proved fruitful as a pair of bloodsuckers flickered to view on the other side of the valley. They seemed to be resting as well, and Boris asked Raccoon if they wanted to engage them. Raccoon glanced up from his maps, took one look at the mutants and seemed to think for a second before shaking his head.

"There's a swamp down there with anomalies, they'd have a lot of fun going through that if they wanted to get to us. Let's leave them be.", Raccoon ordered.

Couple minutes later, the pair rose up to continue their journey, when a series of gunshots rang out in the opposing ridgeline. Boris glanced over there and saw three mercenaries engage the bloodsuckers. The typical battlecry of the mutants echoed in the woods as they cloaked. Raccoon gestured at Boris to follow him as they now knew that at least one mercenary squad would be distracted. They sprinted down the narrow path in the woods, Raccoon struggling to keep up with Boris' exoskeleton-boosted speed. Their stomping startled a group of boars and fleshes to flight, but nothing much else happened during the next twenty minutes or so as they roamed through the woodlands. Once they passed a swamp with Fruit Punch anomalies hissing inside it, Raccoon raised his fist to signal that it was time to stop.

"Merc camp is that way, we need to be quiet from here on out.", he said, pointing at another path leading further by the swamps side.

Boris nodded and they began moving slowly through the foliage. At one point, Boris could hear a conversation coming from up ahead, and he stopped Raccoon on the spot. They ducked down as a group of the hired guns marched past, towards the camp. All Boris could make out of their conversation was "maniacs", "caves" and "splinters". Once the mercs disappeared out of sight and their voices faded away, Raccoon took the lead once more. No more obstacles awaited them. The stalkers passed of a wooden cross marking a grave, and Raccoon noted that it worked as a sort of roadsign that Thicket was ending. Hour more to Meadow according to Raccoon.

Said hour went by in a rush, as the forest gave way to old, overgrown fields. The various mutated vegetables and grains burst out over the rotting fences, and crows had began feasting on the harvest. The morning sun graced them with its light, and for a moment Boris thought about removing his helmet to soak it in. Yet the steady crackling of his Geiger counter was a reminder enough not to do such foolish things. Trudging on in the path between fields, Boris could feel the place shift in elevation. They continued onward and finally, off in the distance the factory complex of Meadow came into view.

"Ah. Home.", Boris sighed.

"Really? You think something in the Zone is your home?", Raccoon asked, surprised.

"Absolutely. I can tell my whole story later, but there's no place like Meadow for me anymore. Let's go, I can taste the beer at 3.6 Röntgen Bar already!", Boris ordered and broke into a sprint.

They raced the last kilometre or so, passing more abandoned houses and fields. Soon enough the familiar garage yard and gate guardpost of Meadow came into view, and the red armours of the sentinels stood out from the grey and green background. Among them was Dima's distinct reinforced SEVA suit, and the temporary leader of Redemption waved at the permanent leader as Boris approached.

"Look what the cat dragged in!", Dima shouted, and the two Redemption guards, who Boris recognized as Timur and Jackdaw, laughed.

"Told you I'd be back! Thanks for borrowing me this beauty, it meted out some much needed vengeance to those bastards!", Boris replied in a joyful tone while raising the Val rifle on him.

"But I thought it wasn't a revenge mission, now?", Dima commented slyly.

"Not for personal reasons, but for all the poor lads killed by the guns they smuggled in. It's good to see you, Dima.", Boris answered truthfully, and Dima grabbed his hand, pulling his friend into a brief half-embrace.

"You too, you stubborn fool. Thank the Zone I no longer have to run the faction, fucking sucks.", Dima said in a fake bitter tone.

"Regarding that... Gather the men, I have an announcement to make. Oh, Raccoon, here's Dima, my second in command and the shitty punmaster of Redemption. Do you mind if I pay after the announcement? I want it done as fast as I can.", Boris asked, and Raccoon nodded, a bit confused look on his face.

Moments later, Boris was standing on a crate in the middle of the factory yard. Before him had gathered the sixty or so men Redemption now had in it. Some were still on missions, and thus unable to attend, but even then, the faction was missing maybe fifteen of its men now. All of the leadership was here, bar for Valik and Stepukha, and to Boris' surprise, both Dimka and Sevka stood in the crowd. A small group of various allies of Redemption had also arrived. Meeker flanked by two Noon guards near Hip's shop, Doctor Zakarov of the Ecologists sitting with Sanyok in the side of the crowd and Grishka Ink with two Freedom experts, Danya Artist and Stepan Painter talking with Dimuha. All had arrived without knowing of Boris' mission, Meeker to establish trade ties, Zakarov to help Sanyok set up his scientific "lab" and Grishka to plan joint operations against mutants in Truck Cemetery. Boris watched the crowd slowly, thinking back to the speech he had prepared en route to here. Seeing the anticipation in his men, he began, his voice booming over the large complex.

"Brothers, comrades and allies of Redemption. Today, I have returned from my personal mission to sever ties to my past. No longer nothing ties me to who I was before coming to Chernobyl, all that remains is the man forged by Zone. As such, today is the day my life as a nomad ends. For too long, I have neglected my faction. For too long, men like Dimuha, Toshka, Stepukha and Valik have ruled in my stead. They have shaped this faction into a force of nature, a proud group of just warriors, and I owe them a debt of gratitude I can never repay. Today, however, their duty as my regent ends. I will take up the mantle of leadership directly, and rule directly from Meadow. We have fought like madmen for so long, for so very long, that a period of rest is more than needed.", Boris spoke, and the crowd was silent until the last word, when many within Redemption let out hurrahs.

"We will recover from our many battlescars. We will standardize our varied armoury, and train ourselves to be even better in what we do. Redemption has shown the Zone that we are just as fierce, just as talented and just as relentless as even the best of mercs, Monolith and Military, and nothing will stand on our way if we improve further. Each of us will be granted redemption, one by one, and we will be bastards, murderers and outcasts no more!", Boris shouted, and more men joined his fervent call.

"While we rest and prepare, however, we must not be completely idle. Our men shall spread out and help our allies or convince those who are still unconvinced to see our devotion. I will manage these from now on, on the macro level, but each of you will still have freedom to pursue your own missions alongside the ones given by me. I will also spend today listening to your woes, ideas and suggestions, for it is time to improve ourselves, but the faction as a whole as well. I will be in the room besides 3.6 Röntgen Bar, so come visit me. Now, with the boring stuff out of the way... Tooth, bring out the best quality vodka and beer, it is time to celebrate the new era of Redemption!", Boris bellowed, and even those few who had not yet joined the celebratory mood did so now.

The entire crowd began meandering towards the bar in the largest hangar of the factory. Tooth ran behind the conveyor belt working as a bartender's nest, and with the help of the youngest Redeemed, Taras, he began setting up beer kegs and vodka bottles for the big group of stalkers now mingling inside the factory. The local chef of Redemption, a man named Herbalist, kindled a fire and started sticking up large pieces of a tark on top of it, filling the whole building with delicious scent of grilled meat. Boris watched the scene unfold while catching up with Dima, Sanyok and Dimuha. Upon getting a beer from Tooth, he stepped into the sideroom and waited for his men to visit in order to share their thoughts. Raccoon was first to visit, though, and Boris paid him 30 thousand rubles for the task. The guide smiled warmly upon seeing the stack of rubles, and made Boris vow to share his story to him later as he disappeared to get a drink too.

Next to visit were his closest friends, with Dimuha, Vityukha, Sanyok, Zakarov, Dima and Felka all visiting him one by one. Vityukha and Dimuha rejoiced to hear that their friend had succeeded in such a flashy manner, Dima was mainly there to collect a package of cigars from Boris in his typical ironic fashion, Sanyok wanted to hear as much as possible of the mission's technical side while Zakarov pondered on the implications it could cause to Belarusian-Ukrainian relations. Felka could still not stand, his legs completely destroyed, but his spirits were as high as Ganja when he heard of Harkushka's demise. As his friends left, others in the faction began trickling in. Psoglav and Polymer came to discuss future armour schemes, Hip and Tooth gave trade details, Toshka reported the training progress on anomaly diving, as he liked to call artifact hunting. Others gave more reports and proposed solutions to dire or mundane problems facing the faction.

Boris had gone through probably fourty or so stalkers in a couple hours, listening to everyone equally. However, as the day began giving way to the night, most conversations turned into drunken gibberish or childlike suggestions, and Boris eventually decided to quit it for the day. Then, just as he was rising from his seat, two men entered the room. Dimka and Sevka, still in their Redemption gear.

"I can see you're tired, Boris, but there is something we must discuss.", Dimka said quietly.

"I presume it relates to you two still lingering here? I thought you were free men now.", Boris replied.

"It's not that simple. We discussed it, and both Dimka and I are rather sure that we won't be employed by the UN anytime soon. This mission was a shitshow, and while Maus can pull up some strings due to his rank, we're just grunts. Nobody wants liabilities like us around, we know too much yet lack the skillset, or connections, to be useful as desk jockeys under surveillance. We'd be going back to national military service... And neither of us want to go back to that.", Sevka explained.

"So let me guess. You two are in it for the long haul with Redemption?", Dima asked, entering the room.

"Man, didn't mama tell you not to eavesdrop?", Boris questioned.

"Mama told me not to smoke, chase girls or become a merc too. Does it seem like I'm good at listening her?", Dima chuckled.

"With your face, I can understand her advising you not to chase girls... Anyway, Dima is right. We want to remain in Redemption, to loiter in the Zone a little longer. This place, despite everything, is growing on us.", Dimka commented.

"I have known that to be true in some way from the moment you joined us. I can see it in your eyes, Dimka. You're like me, the Zone calls you and you can't resist it. And Sevka, you're too loyal of a friend to abandon Dimka here, right? I can see that too. Well, like I said today, Redemption enters a new phase of rebuilding, and two men with extensive military training are more than welcome in that effort.", Boris offered.

"Thank you, Boris, for everything. I heard that Scar will help Maus over the border, so I'm fairly sure our names will be cleared of desertion or at the very least, scrubbed off the record. Doubt our past catches up to us.", Sevka said.

"And if it does, we'll help you deal with it.", Dima noted, and the two ex-UNISG men nodded to them with warm smiles before disappearing back into the bar side of the factory.

"Well then. Looks like our assortment of people from various factions is only growing.", Dima pondered out loud.

"Indeed. And we're all the stronger for it. Shall we join them, brother? I think I've gotten everything sensible out of our men today.", Boris sighed.

Dima nodded, and Boris followed his friend out towards Tooth's alcohol dispensation station. The whole faction was here now. The halls of Meadow were filled with rowdy, hardy men with violent and disgraceful pasts, yet honourable and no less violent futures ahead of them. This was the essence of Redemption, brotherhood through shared burdens by broken yet resilient men. Today was the night of celebration, and it would carry on well into the first light of the day. And through it all, Boris could only think that for the first time in years, he felt whole again. He looked back to the sky filled with glimmering stars, thought back to his loved ones back home, to his brothers here in the Zone, and to the those he had lost. The journey had been long, the path meandering and rocky, but it had all led to home. Home to Meadow, and home to Redemption. Boris sighed and smiled, cracking open yet another bottle of Ukraine's finest. The journey was over at last.