Dark Aether Intel

Fedorov: Adrik Fedorov, efreitor, Omega Group. My squad just returned from the dark place. Well... not all of us did.

Fedorov: They send us to gather Aetherium crystals. It is like... picking wildflowers in Hell.

Fedorov: And of course we say "yes" because we are Spetsnaz. Refusal is not an option. Not if you want to maintain your career.

Fedorov: It has not gone well. I have lost more friends here than I did in Afghanistan. No career is worth that.

Fedorov: If this is what it takes for me to make sergeant, I can only guess what the Colonel has done to get where he is.

Fedorov: I was a different man when I enlisted. I wanted to travel as far from home as possible. And I feared nothing.

Fedorov: This mission has cured me of both.

Koslov: Ivan Koslov. Prisoner number 136-778. I was transferred her from Perm-35 labor camp last month.

Koslov: Somehow, I have survived five trips into the darkness to gather their fucking crystals. Five.

Koslov: That bastard American doctor even called me "Lucky Ivan." *spits*

Koslov: They forced us through his gateway at gunpoint. Shot the first man who dared to say "nyet." So in go nine of us. Only Lucky Ivan comes back.

Koslov: And now? I am in this hellish place on trip number six and... I cannot find the exit. Did they close it? Did they get tire of waiting for me?

Koslov: These crystals are heavy. I do not know where I am. And I know something out there is watching me.

Koslov: Not so lucky after all...

Tobias: Tobias Hoffman, sergeant. I was captured on a covert mission in the DDR. My superiors had to deny they ever heard of me.

Tobias: The Stasi interrogated me. I gave them nothing. So they threw me in a Dresden prison for two years.

Tobias: And now a KGB unit I never heard of before has me hunting verdammt monsters in this nightmare world they have discovered.

Tobias: They brought other prisoners -- political dissidents and common criminals -- to gather strange minerals from this place.

Tobias: But I have skills the others do not, so they make me hunt "specimens" for their American scientist.

Tobias: It makes sense: why risk their own soldiers when they have someone as utterly expendable as me?

Tobias: So I kill their specimens and drag them back for study. The American is giddy with these new playthings. He promises to reward me, but I know his words are empty.

Tobias: Strange man. I swear he feels more... kinship for these creatures than he dose for other people.

Tobias: Truth be told, I do not hate this work. Dangerous, yes, but better than rotting in a jail cell.

Olga: My name is... Olga. It is Olga... Olga...

Olga: Damn it. I cannot remember last name. *coughs*

Olga: I was pulled out of labor camp to mine crystals. I was... healthy then. But... *coughs/growls*... I think crystals... make me sick.

Olga: First came nightmares. I am chair. I am box. I am table. *wheezes* Maybe does not seem scary, but it is.

Olga: Then came fevers... and pain. Now parts of skin look like wood. Look like brick. Is different every morning.

Olga: Bones are crooked. They bend... like rubber. And hair is... sticking together like... tails of rats.

Olga: Am I... falling apart? *wheezes* Or am I turning into... something else?

My friend! Glad you are back, though surely you would rather be elsewhere. I know that feeling all too well, trapped over here for so long.

I want to share more of my journal with you. To help you understand what I have been through. To prepare you for what you now face.

I will contact you soon with more.

Day 291: Completed base of operations. Took forever to gather tools and materials, but at last my little fort is secure.

Stockpiled weapons. Placed barricades. Found components for traps in case creatures come too close: electric spikes in doorway, gas pipes that shoot flames, and so on.

Worried a human may wander into one of them. Perhaps should make warning signs.

First time since I arrived that I feel safe. At last I can sleep soundly.

Day 2,944: Made another brief visit back to the world today. Entire minute passed before I was pulled here again.

This time I was in a city! New York, I think. Tall glass buildings. Long cars with fins on tails. Neon and chrome everywhere. People rushing through their lives.

Still, no one can see or hear me when I am over there. Like a ghost, I pass unnoticed.

The world goes on without me.

Day 3,789: I remember being scared of the burning dogs. They are fast. Hunt in packs. Kill them and they explode like firebombs.

Watched them over the years. Learned patterns, behavior. Understand them now. I even found an injured one and nursed him back to health.

Now he answers my call. Watches my back. I am no longer alone.

I call him Cinder. Not a "good boy," but as close as it gets over here.

Day 4,010: Cinder sleeps in a corner I cleared out for him. My fort is always warm.

He is my partner. Loyal, protective, if not very smart. Hard to remember life without him.

We hunt together. I thought keeping him fed would be a challenge, but Cinder is happy devouring my kills - and I am a good provider.

Wish I could pet him.

Day 6,157: Found red beverage machine a few days ago. Badly damaged. Inner workings broken and exposed.

Took it to my workshop. Tried to fix. I think I understand the design, but some parts beyond repair.

Will have to scavenge from other such device. Would lift my spirits greatly to master this mechanism.

Day 6,289: Found another device today - a kind I have not seen before. Like my drink machine, this one is too damaged to function. And it is definitely not for drinks.

Disassembling it in my workshop now. Best guess: it is something like a kiln, or a crucible. Excited by the possibilities!

Have applied everything learned from repairing drink machine but still cannot fix. Considering looking for help.

Day 6,412: Ever since my successes with the drink machine and crucible, I have collected more and more machinery and electronics.

Now confident I can complete transmitter project. Have seen enough such devices on my brief excursions "home." I know the components and how they should work together.

Acquired some parts from another man stranded here. He gathers items for trade. Told him about machines I repaired and he asked to see them.

Perhaps I found a kindred spirit.

Day 6,416: Disaster. The Trader arrived unannounced last night. He brought friends.

They attacked my fort, avoiding traps. I was a fool to put up warning signs. I fought back but still they broke in.

Cinder came to my aid, but they were ready. I almost burned alive when my only friend exploded.

Now all my machines and components are stolen. Fort can be restored, but I am alone again. What will I do.

Day 6,418: Decided to visit Trader. Even after what he did, I had to try to make peace. He is still human, after all.

His friends were there. They laughed when I asked for truce. I only wanted to talk, but they were not interested in words.

I killed them all. Not proud. Life is rare and precious here. Mine most of all.

I know there is still good in humanity, but the longer I am here, the less I remember what it is.

Pyotr: I do not know how long it has been.

Pyotr: How long have I gone without orders? How long... Without purpose?

Pyotr: I fear I am losing.

Pyotr: Not, not just a war, but... losing myself.

Pyotr: There were soldiers. An army. One I recognized, but hoped I would never seen again.

Pyotr: I am afraid that wherever I go...

Pyotr: I may not come back.

Fedorov: Fedorov, Omega Group. We have been reassigned from Aetherium mining duties. That task now falls to... vermin. Enemies of the state.

Fedorov: But now they expect us to map the "Dark Aether" -- that is what Peck calls this place. I would like to see him try to survey this... madness.

Fedorov: I have seen things out here. Unspeakable things. And today... bozhe moi.

Fedorov: Usually, large groups of the infected are... chaotic. Mindless mobs. But today I found hundreds of them strangely grouped.

Fedorov: And their clothing... were they uniforms? I dared not get too close, but they looked like...

Fedorov: No. No, that cannot be right. It surely cannot be.

Fedorov: This place, it plays tricks on you. I... I just need to get some sleep.

Day 6,421: I must be honest with myself. I knew there would be no truce with those men. I knew it would end in bloodshed.

They stole my crucible, but they did not understand what it was. Too bad for them I had already used it on my own weapon.

5 men and I still outgunned them. 5 human lives. Too easy.

Why don't I feel worse about killing them? Is my humanity slipping away? Will I end up just another beast prowling this land?

Day 6,457: Finally starting to shake off dark thoughts. Cannot allow myself to sink into savagery. This land will not break me.

Technology is the key. I am only alive because I rebuilt that crucible. Must keep working. Must keep building.

I will return to my transmitter project. Someone will answer my calls. And I will warn the world of the threat it faces from this place of darkness.

My friend, I will share more journal entries later.

I hope you have come to understand what my life has been like over here. I would not wish it on anyone.

I have so much more to tell you; things I hope you will find useful in the struggles to come.

But for now, I must go hunt. I will contact you again soon.

Pyotr: There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile.

Pyotr: He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile.

Pyotr: He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse.

Pyotr: And they all lived together in a little crooked house. 

Pyotr: There was a woman, that I met.

Pyotr: Her gait was far from crooked.

Pyotr: She told me never to lose faith.

Pyotr: In spite of how I looked.

Pyotr: She told me that I was not worthless.

Pyotr: The German accent threw me off.

Pyotr: But her words inspired me nonetheless.

Pyotr: I will - We will - Fix this crooked house.