Крип / Kryp: Отряд_4.24

Chapter 24

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 08:33

Kryptman sat motionlessly and looked at the pale faces of the psychonauts. Olga seemed to have calmed down a little, at least she was no longer crying in unconsciousness, and Demetrius, on the contrary, was shivering like a freezing man. The novice's face twitched frequently as if every facial muscle had been electrified.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:14

Fidus aimed at Demetrius's forehead with his pistol, then put the weapon away, but not too far away, so that it was close at hand. The sounds of gunfire and explosions had died down, and the train was rolling forward, which was more or less reassuring. He was very thirsty, the thirst was drying out his throat. Fidus only now remembered that he had taken his last sip barely in the morning, and now the time must be nearing midnight. He should ask Driver for some...

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:15

As if in response to the inquisitor's thoughts, the dishevelled driver stuck his red face into the hatch again.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:23

"Hey, Bertha is calling for you," he said curtly, and his silver dangles rattled against the metal frame.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:24

"I'm busy," snapped Fidus, not taking his eyes off the psychonauts.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:24

"Very much so!" Driver clarified.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:28

"I'm busy," Kryptman repeated.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:29

"Ah," the redskin mumbled in a single syllable. "Well, Ok."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:32

He disappeared, fiddled noisily in his compartment, then slid back in, holding out a speaker on a long leg with a triple wire, apparently part of a plug-in headset for intra-train communication. Kryptman bit his lip, silently cursing the idiots who can't do anything themselves. The speaker yelled in a distinctive and perfectly recognizable voice:

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:33

"Aren't you crazy, you convict face?! Should I kill you for sabotage or put you in the furnace for heat?!"

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:35

"Do you know what would happen if Brother Demetrius came back a converted man?" The inquisitor gritted his teeth.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:36

"Do you know what would happen if a train full of heretics caught up with us?" The Mentor shouted back and finished in an almost calm voice. "We're being chased by the '64'. So feet in the ass and run to the staff wagon!"

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:42

"Got it." the inquisitor gritted his teeth again. "I will."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:43

"And take those glasses that the pinion gave the little one. We need them badly."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:44

The driver nodded, signaling "My task is done," and hid back. Fidus bit the knuckles of his left hand painfully, trying to put his thoughts together and improvise some kind of strategy. The strategy refused to be improvised.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:45

"Hey," Kryptman pounded on the iron bulkhead with the hilt of his gun.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:58

"What?"

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 13:57

"What's the biggest gun you have?" Fidus asked.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:22

"Uh... What?" The tank driver didn't understand.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:23

"I'm going out. Someone has to keep watch," Kryptman clarified. "If they come back as human beings, you can comfort and encourage them. And if they don't..."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:23

The Driver took a sip and shook his head.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:26

"Gotcha. Both of them?"

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:27

"Yes."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:27

"I'm not going to shoot them," said the Driver. "I'll use a frag grenade. It'll work reliably in this cramped space. And there's not much damage to the vehicle."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:32

"At your discretion," muttered the Inquisitor, pulling himself up to the turret hatch. He didn't want to fiddle with the sliding panel.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:33

"So, what's wrong there," the inquisitor wasted no time in foreplay when he went up to the command post. The blood on his boots and the sight of the dead on the first floor of the staff wagon did not add to his eloquence or friendliness.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:37

"The Emperor's shit...!" he let out at the sight of the headless iron figure seated in the commandant's chair. He hesitated, remembering to whom he was speaking.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:38

"That's what I said," the Priest confirmed. "And then the severed head spoke."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:39

"Mechanicum," summed up the inquisitor, looking at the wrinkled head of Wakrufmann, which lay in the middle of the light map.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:40

"Human," the head said. The synthesizer malfunctioned, and the priestess's voice was drowned in hoarse and grinding noises, but it was relatively audible.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:47

"Is it so hard to accept the fact that we are evolutionarily more advanced?" asked the metal head of the techno-priestess.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:48

"Well, it's hard to accept that you can stick your brains in your belly," the Priest muttered, doing an aquila. "It's all wrong..."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:49

"Well," the inquisitor clapped his hands together. "Let's get to the point. Because we have a psychonaut in the difficult dive. And I have no idea what could appear with him or instead of him."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:51

"Glasses for starters," the headless figure held out her hand, without the former grace, apparently guided by sound.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:51

"Take it."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:51

"Thanks."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:52

From behind Jennifer's shoulder rose a servo skull, which took the glasses with its little paws, put them on its own 'face,' wrapped the handles back and tied the temples together with thin wire. Then flew up to Wakrufmann and grasped the segmented fragment of the neck tightly. A second skull with a toolbox flew up, a sparkle of micro-welding flashed, a rustle of sticky tape.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 14:59

"Is this some kind of ritual?" Fidus asked.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:04

"This is technology. My optical devices don't work. I use Olga's glasses instead, they will give me back my sight."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:04

"I thought you could see through your technique."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:05

"Yes, but the damage is quite significant. I have to create a palliative."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:08

"Skull finished the job. Jennifer got out of her chair and took a few steps, turning her whole body around at the same time. The iron body combined with the real skull over her shoulders looked surreal."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:09

"Nekron is a bit like that," Fidus muttered.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:20

"Who?" Bertha didn't understand.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:20

"Well, it's just a fairy tale," Kriptman came to his senses. "It's old and it's scary."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:23

Jennifer took hold of the skull and shook it, apparently checking to see if it was attached. From the outside, it looked as if the hero of a scary fairy tale was pulling his own head off. The Priest crossed his fingers in the aquila again.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:24

"I'm on the locomotive," Jennifer reported, making sure the scheme was working. "The stoker servitors have stopped, and the furnace should be running. Listen to the head."

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:25

The techno-priestess went downstairs, treading a little unsteadily, from metal toe to heel, as if she were unsure of the support under her feet.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:26

"What's the problem?" Kryptman asked, turning, this time, to the battered head. The metal skull was cracked, and through the hole, they could see tiny parts, wires, and something flashing like LEDs.

Camrad_RIP 01.12.21 в 15:27