Крип / Kryp: Отряд_5.28

Chapter 28

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 13:01

Olga's mind was a little fuzzy, the effects of her otherworldly misadventures and her ghostly friends. When the first fuse had passed, and Demetrius had taken a good slap for his perverted advances, the girl had literally been cut down by fatigue. Exhaustion turned out to be complex, making her muscles turn to wood and her thoughts turn to jelly. Olga wrapped herself in overalls and a foil blanket like cabbage crammed herself under a bench in the tank and tried not to think about anything, not to be afraid of anything. The 'not to be afraid' thing turned out badly, everything around was rumbling, making a hell of a lot of noise and it was very scary. Even through the armor there was a kind of death roar, sirens, horrible screams. The driver was firing his cannon, showering the metal floor with hot casings that looked like tall brass cups. The train, and consequently the track car, was pounding as if a giant was trying to shake the car in a mixer.

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 15:41

Then a complete light show began. The armored train barely jumped on the tracks like a saiga, banging even louder than the previous one. And it seemed to Olga that a real airplane was howling right above the train. The girl wrapped herself up tightly in the blanket and began to pray silently to the 'dear God', poorly understanding who exactly she was calling out to. However, some god must exist here, and the prayer had a chance of getting to the right place, even if it was 'to the grandfather's village'.

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 15:54

And again there followed a heavy blow, then the train jerked, but without the extremity of the previous minutes, one might say - gently, so that the girl was not struck against the rack of the iron bench, but only symbolically bumped, most likely, even without a bruise will do. The moment of braking pressed the girl into the metal, the piercing scrape of the wheels against the rails coming through several layers of armor. Then a series of jolts went from head to tail - the wagon couplings one by one took on the mass of the armored train, dampening the inertia. Finally, the 'Radial-12' came to a halt.

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 15:56

"God shows mercy," the girl finished her prayer in a whisper and thought it was time for the adventures to stop. There was too much going on all at once.

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 15:58

She was determined not to get out of the tank, moreover, she would not stick her nose out of the blanket until the shitty adventure was over, preferably well, so that everyone remained alive and well. Even the evil bodybuilder. And the noseless poet. And Kryp, the hell with him. Everybody, everybody, everybody.

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 15:59

"Dear God, save us, please, what is it worth to you, huh?" she whispered. Her mind kept turning to 'at least me,' and she repeated with determination (as much as she could in a tragic whisper). "Save us."

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 16:02

"Ah, damn!" Kryp cursed, and slammed his fist into the armor plate in an angry rage, making Demetrius' bag jump. The orderly, who had been bandaging Driver's bloody head, shrugged angrily. Demetrius's face froze with guilt, for the driver had been injured dragging the stunned medic into the hatch. It was unclear what had hit the driver's head, most likely a piece of metal, or maybe a lump of earth, frozen to a ringing hardness.

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 16:05

Driver was saved by a hat and a tank helmet, and they self-defended the blow to the point that he was just lucky to get a fractured skull and a loss of consciousness. Demetrius promised that Driver would be alive and in moderate health... but not now, not even today. Thus the tiny squad lost another fighter, and in worse tactical shape - a useless wounded man who should have been taken care of by diverting the forces of the living and healthy. Most importantly, the tank was left without a driver. Berta could drive the 'Chimera' a little bit, but everyone in the squad understood that 'a little bit would not be enough here.

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 16:08

"I'll drive," the mentor-commandant summed up, her lips pressed together stubbornly, and everyone silently agreed that there was no choice. After all, the Emperor protects.

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 16:12

"Is there really no way... him...?" Savlar gurgled, pointing a finger black with mud at the Driver.

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 21:23

Demetrius couldn't hear, the medic seemed to have gone completely deaf. The Priest touched him by the shoulder and pointed to the Driver, the army medicine bag, then raised his eyebrows expressively.

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 21:24

"I do my best," Demetrius said succinctly, speaking slowly and stiffly as if he'd been drinking heavily. "But he not a fighter. He couldn't walk, nausea, and cramps. We'll have to drag him anyway."

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 21:25

"I see," the monk replied, repeating Kryptman's gesture, only he slapped his hand instead of slapping the metal, then commanded. "Let's load up!"

Camrad_RIP 05.12.21 в 21:26

"We have to hurry," Kryptman said, looking at the radiation detector attached to the stairs to the second floor. "Sixty-four's reactor is probably intact and automatically shut down, or we'd be gone by now. But all the rigging and pipes are apparently broken, and the radiation is getting stronger. We have about ten minutes, then..."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:02

He didn't finish, but what he said was clear. The arrow was jumping on the border between the green and yellow zones of the scale, but with each fluctuation it lingered in the yellow zone longer and longer. Considering that there was no red bar on the scale, it made sense to heed the Inquisitor's advice.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:03

"I'll drive," Bertha said again, judging by her facial expression and tone she was convincing herself rather than informing the others.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:14

"I'll drive."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:14

"A techno priestess appeared from the wagon, clutching the talking head busily under her arm. Berta could barely contain a sigh of relief."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:15

"Where is Olga?" Wackruffmann was just as businesslike.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:22

"Here!" came a low voice from the womb of the tank. "Either asleep or frightened.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:23

"Well, she's excused," muttered Crybaby, wiping the elf's dirty face with tears.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:24

Jennifer solemnly handed the head to Savlar and walked around the tank, intending to climb into the open hatch of the vehicle. The convict nearly dropped his precious cargo and stared at the crumpled steel skull in disbelief. Above the wagon rumbled again, the noise was already quite familiar and reassuring, reminding us that in the mad city the squads have at least some support.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:37

"Coming in for a landing," Kryp pointed out. "Looks like it'll land about a hundred meters... there," he waved his hand to indicate an azimuth. "We'll head that way first, maybe he can cover us with his guns. He might be able to tell us something."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:38

What's there to clarify," Bertha grumbled, trying, with the Holy Man's support, to shove the 'Implicator' through the hatch. "Go ahead and punish."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:39

However, the commander did not argue much.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:43

"It's a bit of a mess," the Priest summed up. "On the other hand, we're purificators, not guardsmen. So it's not bad if you look at it."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:56

"Creative impromptu," Kryptman added. "Well, into the vehicle, everybody. Father, help me open the board. Let's try to roll right onto the platform."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:56

"Please," the monk agreed and looked sadly at the tank, then at the chemical cannon sprayer. Bertha, I suppose, came to similar conclusions and ordered through her teeth to the Holy Man. "Stick the machine gun back out! It's empty anyway... We'll clean it up when it's done. Acid is more important."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 06:57

Kryptman wanted to jump onto the Chimera's armor with a good show of skill and ease, but he almost fell down and climbed heavily, with the slow movements of a tired man.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:06

"Olga, are you alive?" he called into the open ammunition hatch at the rear of the tower. From inside, after a long pause, an indecipherable voice answered in Olga's voice.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:07

"Oh," Jennifer's head mouthed quite humanly, and Savlar almost dropped it again with fright. "I think we're in trouble."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:07

"Of course," the Priest grinned widely and sadly at the same time. "Not a minute without a challenge."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:08

A quick check and a short explanation by Wakrufmann showed that the problem, despite its apparent humor, was serious indeed. The 'Chimera's' optics were out of order, the machine could now be operated 'from the hatch'. But the long, only a head shorter than Kryptman - Driver did not fit well in the driver's seat of the Chimera and had long ago remade it for himself. He had unscrewed something, twisted something, and trimmed it with a gas cutter, and then welded it on for safety. As a result, the chair was lower than it was structurally and comfortable - to Driver's measure. But Jennifer, whose height was a little over one and a half meters, simply could not reach her head to the hatch cut. The techno-priestess announced the nature of the difficulty and stared silently with her skull on the seat, either calculating something or overwhelmed with problems.
1111

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:11

"And if you stand up... or throw something on a chair..." the monk suggested and then stumbled back. "Yes, you can't reach the pedals that way..."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:12

The Wretched Man, gray with pain, hissed out a few muffled curses. The Savlar seemed about to cry again. But Crybaby, against his custom, did not weep. He silently walked over to Jennifer and removed the glasses from her bony head, carefully dislodging the safety wire. Wakrufmann reacted, but belatedly; the flamethrower, like a midget dancer, dodged the steel arms.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:20

"Let's put it on the blonde," said Crybaby. "It'll be the eyes for you."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:27

"Give it back," Jennifer asked very politely. "It's a silly joke."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:27

"I'm not kidding," the flamethrower murmured thinly, squeakily, but confidently from the depths of his usual scarf. "The glasses are receiving and transmitting images, aren't they?"

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:28

"Yes."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:28

"But you can't see them directly, right? You need some kind of intermediary from whose head you're going to take the picture."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:29

"Yes. Conflict of protocols, there was no time to fix it."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:29

"So there you go. She's going to look. She's got your gears in her head, like a servo. And you'll be pulling levers, pushing pedals."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:30

"But..." The gurgling voice from the 'pot' was silenced almost halfway through.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:30

Jennifer froze like a statue for five seconds, then busily climbed into her seat, clacking her metal fingers on the armor with words:

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:40

"Functional solution. A critical but acceptable level of risk. I am ashamed that the obvious solution was prompted from the outside, and not even by an adept of Omnissia."
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Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:40

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Savlar hurriedly threw after her. "There's... there's... levers and buttons and stuff!"

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:41

"I'll handle it," answered the head in the hands of the noseless man. "I am already familiar with the spirit of this machine, it favors me and does not want to end up in a radioactive coffin, not far from the desecrated machinery."

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:42

Bertha looked around the wagon, or rather the hangar part of it, where the remaining fighters had gathered around the 'Chimera'. By some miracle the backup power grid was on, and instead of the red emergency light under the high ceiling, the normal lights came back on. They blinked and chirped, clearly balancing on the edge of overload, but the light was enough.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:43

"Well, the biggest thing is ahead of us," she said quietly, more to herself.

Camrad_RIP 06.12.21 в 07:44