Prologue: The Tourist and The Encounter
Observation and Protection
Prologue: The Tourist and The Encounter
By: Stillmatic
Small, soft voices drifted through the head of the ex-stalker, nestling inside and whispering memories of adventures long since passed. His tired eyes closed as his nostrils took deep breaths of New York air and the cries of gulls outside and sounds of diplomacy inside the building clogged the air. As beautiful as the United Nations Headquarters was, it didn’t captivate him quite like the desolate and dark region that was the Ukrainian Zone of Alienation. The nearby East River held nothing to the murky waters of the Great Swamps, or even Lake Yantar.
He sighed, remembering how much his time in the Zone had changed him. Ask any veteran and they would tell you they felt the same as him; once you left the Zone, you always felt yourself wanting to return. It was a suicidal thought to any inexperienced rookie or outsider, but something about the Zone just changed who you were. It made you different. You wanted it and wanted to be there in it. Yes, the Exclusion Zone was a cruel and fickle woman that hypnotized men with the lust for fortune, power, and most importantly, riches. That was always the reason one would enter the most dangerous region on Earth, but as one spent more time, each became less and less important in the eyes of a stalker.
The stalker opened his eyes to find his small wish unfulfilled. He was still at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, waiting for his employer to return to his office and brief him on details for an upcoming mission. The stalker made an excellent addition, like quite a few others, to the U.N. Dignitary Protection Committee. The name was a formality for the most part, with only a few bureaucrats populating the committee. In reality, they were hired mercenaries ordered to protect certain groups or individuals who held high rank within the United Nations.
Many times had he escorted VIP’s and persons of interest through war-zones or treacherous areas. Time in the Zone prepared him for assassins, ambushes and surprises and he proved to be a valuable asset to the United Nations. In order to survive in the Zone, one needed to learn how everything from snorks to rats operated and thought. Observation of their tactics led to understanding the way they attacked, which was useful when trying to avoid any kind of confrontation, no matter the creature. Still, as crazy as it seemed, he missed the Zone.
The twisting of the nearby doorknob brought him back to reality, severing his reminiscing. A man clad in a business suit stepped inside and closed the door behind him, locking it. The stalker looked back, shook the hand presented to him, and sat down in the chair across the decorated desk from the other person. Silence filled the room for a few seconds until the official broke the silence.
“Chason, how are you?”
The stalker, one of the very rare “tourists” of the Zone, was originally an Israeli-born Russian turned artifact hunter. The decision to do so was brash and overzealous, but he effectively fit in without disclosing his true identity to the locals. The Zone was filled with people from all over Eastern Europe, but Russians and Ukrainians seemed to be the dominant people there. Nonetheless, his knowledge of the language allowed his easy assimilation, without raising any suspicion other than him noting to his fellow stalkers that he was simply from a Jewish community in Belarus. It worked better than he expected, and turned the prying eyes of others away from him. After all, tourists weren’t very well liked in the Zone.
Chason rubbed at his eyes and exhaled, “I’d like some sleep, but fine. Who do I need to watch after now?”
The official reached into his desk drawer and retrieved two shot glasses and a bottle of scotch, “You need to stop being to the point all the time. You have a few hours until you need to leave, but try relaxing for a moment or two.” He noticed Chason’s raised brow, “What?”
Chason nodded to the scotch.
The dignitary gave a look of realization to his employee and put away the scotch in favor of a bottle of vodka, “Of course,” he said in a somewhat irked manner, “how could I forget that this is all you drink?”
Shrugging, Chason responded by chuckling to himself, “I don’t have a taste for anything else anymore. You should know that, Oleg.”
A moment of stressed seriousness passed Oleg, “You aren’t in the Zone anymore. You don’t need to be so untrusting of our water.”
The stalker smiled very faintly, “Trust New York water? It’s probably more irradiated than the Swamps.”
“Have it your way,” Oleg responded, annoyed, “Now, the DPC needs you to assist a new expedition into the Exclusion Zone. We’ve lost contact with an ISG squad-“
Chason cut in, “Wait, you’ve got clearance from the Ukrainian government to send in the International Scientific Group? After the first one the U.N. funded during the-“
“Don’t bring it up; we don’t like to talk about that massacre…” Oleg poured himself a drink, frowning, “I still can’t believe how short-sighted and childish we were in just sending in those poor bastards to their deaths. Those guides that were hired ended them up at Rostok. Rostok for God’s sake! This was before it became a safe zone, when it was full of anomalies.” He clicked his tongue, “Dozens sent in, only a few came out. And now most of the survivors are institutionalized.”
Chason nodded, “I know, I’ve seen my fair share. Plenty of good stalkers die each day in the Zone, and it’s a miracle that people still want to go there.”
“These weren’t stalkers though, these were scientists sent in to observe the workings of the Zone. They didn’t have any experience that would have saved them, but that’s why we have the likes of you here to help us.” Oleg noticed Chason’s interested look, “Let me explain. You see, Delta Squad of the ISG troops were most likely wiped out at the Generators. We assume so because there’s no communication between us anymore. Now,” he pulled out a detailed map of the Zone and pointed to an area near the Red Forest, “They went to Generators from the Red Forest, at which point we lost contact with them. Our sources within the Zone mention that a massive blowout occurred-“
“And they were right at the Generators, leaving them helpless.”
“Exactly. They didn’t stand a chance. I advised the ISG to use a guide, but they didn’t seem to. Now they’re most likely dead, or worse, zombified or part of the Monolith.”
“The worst ways to go,” Chason sighed.
“Right, well, we’re sending in a better equipped team this time, working alongside some other scientists from other groups.”
Chason pointed a finger at his friend, “You know this is a suicide mission, right? There’s nothing to protect them from the blowout if it happens.”
“Let me finish,” Oleg stated, “We’ve… discovered something interesting at the Generators. You’ve had interactions with Space anomalies, I assume?” Chason nodded, “We’ve found a large one. Over quadruple the size of a normal one.”
The stalker blinked in surprise, “… That large? Where could something that enormous lead?”
Oleg sloshed his vodka before downing it, “That’s what we’re sending you and the other groups in to find out. At the Generators, at the center of the trenches and near the antennae is the anomaly. We’ll be sending in a mobile lab and enough supplies to last a few months. You and the Troops will protect the Scientists by any means necessary. Make sure that none of them suffer a fate worse than actually living in the Zone. You may recognize some of the Scientists, however. A few persons of interest that we’ve worked with before.”
Chason remained silent for a moment, thinking until he finally found his words, “Who are the Scientists we’re protecting?”
“Some are regulars that are purely there for research. A couple of them are members of Clear Sky that managed to survive the Great Blowout.”
The stalker’s eyes widened in shock, “Really? How did they do that? And who are they?”
“I only know the names of two. The first is the Docent to the late Professor Lebedev.”
The name sent some chills down Chason’s spine. The Zone was always a place of violence, but an all-out war was declared by Clear Sky against the Monolith only a few months back. The result was a massive storming of Limansk to the CNPP itself. It ended in disaster for the Clear Sky faction, nearly obliterating the population of it and leaving only a few members within the Great Swamps. Professor N. A. Lebedev led the attack, only to have himself inducted into the Monolith along with most of Clear Sky. It was truly a grim happening that was looked back with slight apprehension by some veterans of the Zone.
The stalker answered, “You’re talking about Suslov, aren’t you?”
“Correct. The other that I know of is an E. F. Kalancha.”
“Beanpolev, you mean?”
“… Beanpolev?” The official asked.
“It was his nickname from what I’ve heard from a friend. Nimble.”
He gave a satisfied look to Chason, “I’ve heard of that one. He has many contacts that could be useful. As I was saying, those are the two that I know of. But more importantly, all you need to know is that you must protect them with your life and at all costs. I don’t know where you might end up, but know this: If anything at all threatens you, you’re cleared to eliminate them without hesitation. Whether they are mutants, stalkers or Military, let no one stop you.”
“I understand,” the stalker said, “But I hope you know what we’re getting into.”
Oleg pushed the bottle of vodka towards his employee with a smirk, “I have full faith in your abilities. After all, who knows the Zone better than the likes of you? We don’t have many experts who are willing to work for us as of late.”
A smile curled on Chason’s face, “I don’t understand why. The United Nations pays quite well.”
The dignitary hummed in approval and stood up, “Yes, they do. Now, I realize you’re going to want to not use your real name Chason, so what are you going to use an alias?”
Chason stood as well, getting ready to leave and eager to return to the Zone, “The same as I’ve always used.”
“Hmm, ‘Tourist,’ was it?”
The veteran stalker nodded and shook Oleg’s hand, “Right. I’ll head over and get ready.”
“Stay safe, it would be a shame for the Zone to claim you,” Oleg said grimly.
“I’ll be fine. After all, you trust me, don’t you?”
One smirk later and Chason had left the room, oblivious to what was to come. A nagging pestered him in the back of his mind, but he simply brushed it off. Really, what was the worst that could happen to him in the Zone that hasn’t already occurred? Following the white hallways, he chuckled to himself, happy that he would be spending time within the Zone once again, this time legally.
A pegasus, weak in attitude but sweet in nature, flew carefully with a bag of birdseed in her mouth. It was another fine and shining day in Equestria, with animals of all sorts basking in the sunlight and enjoying their relatively simple lives. Ponies, however, were busy at work for the most part, doing as they regularly do daily. Fluttershy wasn’t an exception and her profession of caring for the animals and other creatures that resided near her cottage kept her busy throughout the day. Still, she enjoyed what she did every day and seeing the affection she received from all of her critters was payment enough.
Humming to herself, the pink-maned pegasus stopped suddenly midflight, something catching her eye near the edge of the nearby Everfree Forest. Taking a moment to look at what appeared to be an object, she noticed a distinct glint shining off of some surface on it. She tilted her head in confusion and examined the rest of it from afar. It was literally a fairly large and well put together mound of leaves, mud, and other sorts of debris. There were in fact some animals that do such things, but never quite like this. It remained there unmoving, just as she expected from a pile of various debris.
The hunched-over mound began to look odder and odder the more she looked at it. Towards the bottom, a protrusion that connected to the floor for balance’s sake stuck out and stabilized the odd construction, reaching roughly less than half the height of it. Two similar ones were made on opposite sides of the main body of the pile that ran forward and met at the object that shined from the front. Whatever was stuck there, it seemed to be an object that used some sort of glass. A mossy lump sat atop the hunch, with reeds and other long leaves coming down from it, hiding something underneath from the meek pegasus.
Fluttershy simply assumed it was an intricate bird’s nest that one of her fine, feathered friends made. They were quite adept at making proper structures for themselves but this seemed far too well-made and simply out of place to have been made by any sort of bird she knew. Curious, she slowly flew towards the object and landed gently on the grass. Her head tilted in confusion as to what it truly was, egging her to get just a little closer. Eventually, she was right up to it, her puzzled demeanor overriding her normally mild nature.
Very lightly, the pegasus tapped the mound, finding it fairly sound and solid. It didn’t react in the slightly to her prodding and she simply mentally shrugged at it. Surely it was nothing to get worked up about. That is, until it stood up right in front of her and turned around. Her face fell along with her heart, instantly frightened for her life as what she thought was a pile of leaves reached over twice her height. The shiny object was stowed under the leaves and it quickly moved away from her, taking quick glances back to make sure she wasn’t following.
Fluttershy was fidgeting uncontrollably on the ground, pressed up against it to look as small and unappetizing as possible to what could have been a potential predator. Yet, the debris-monster simply jogged away until it was out of sight, leaving her to her thoughts as she quickly lifted her bag of birdseed in her mouth and made an erratic flight back to her cottage, hiding herself away. The encounter left her scared, but something seemed wrong with that. It obviously showed no signs of animosity or provocation towards her and it only moved away from her when she obviously got too close its personal comfort zone.
She sighed, berating herself, ‘Oh, I’m such a bad friend… I scared that poor creature away by being too bold with it…’
Despite unknowingly being wrong, she was upset at herself for being what she thought was uninhibited with confronting an unknown creature and frightening it enough that it ran away from her. Fluttershy had completely forgotten whether or not it could have attacked her.
She turned to Angel who had just woken up from a nap and glanced briefly out the window towards the forest, “I-I h-hope it’s all right out t-there…”
Deep within the woods however, a Freedomer was laughing heartily at the encounter, somewhat amused at how quick the pegasus was to shrink under his large stature. He reached onto his belt and opened a container carefully, being sure not to drop the precious content within. The stalker lifted out a Flash artifact and stowed it away in his backpack underneath his makeshift ghillie suit, making extra sure that it was secured within a pocket large enough for it. It may have only weighed half kilogram, but it was worth much more to the right buyer.
He chuckled to himself and began to continue his search for a Space anomaly to take him back to the Zone instead of this incredibly odd place full of such different life. His only hope was that no other stalkers or even mutants would arrive here, in order to prevent the Zone’s corruption from coming as well. Leaning against a tree to rest, the Freedomer pulled out a piece of bread, lifted the camo-veil from his face, and began to think his current situation over some suspicious food.
A bad feeling resonated in the back of his head, alerting him that something would definitely go wrong in the future. Without a doubt, he knew something was up ever since arriving in this place and nearly losing his life a few times. Finished with his bread, he downed some vodka and placed it within his pack before continuing to look for a Space anomaly. The stalker was at peace for a few moments, enjoying his brief vacation from the Zone in such an odd land. Then again, he’d spent years in the Zone and even this place didn’t seem that far-fetched as it would have before he gained his Zone experience. Such is how the Zone changed people, and such is the way he thought.
Author's Notes
Well, I said I'd do this one day and here it is, a STALKER and FiM crossover. I'd just like to state a few things about the story now, while I can.
First, this occurs roughly around the end of Shadow of Chernobyl, in transition between Summer and Fall.
Second, the International Scientific Group was a faction that was meant to be shown in the opening cutscenes of Clear Sky, but were cut. They are still mentioned and by that, I consider them canon to the STALKER universe.
Third, before anyone complains about ghillie suits in STALKER, the leaked STALKER 2 concept art featured a Freedomer dressed in a suit similar to the one I described. The object was the second most handy tool in the Zone, a pair of binoculars.
Fourth, this story will definitely rely on the lore from the STALKER universe and maybe even some non-canon things from certain mods (will mostly stick with canon though). If anything doesn't make sense, PM me or leave a comment or something.
Lastly, I hope I can make this into a pretty decent crossover fic and remain true to both sides.
Guess that's it, hope you enjoyed it.
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This cross-over sounds very cool and I'll definitely be tracking it. S.T.A.L.K.E.R SoC was one of my favorite games that I've ever played and I'd love to see where you will go with this fic.
STALKER CROSSOVER? HELL YES!
speaking of cannon, this seems like it defiantly will be i wanna see how this turns out keep it up
awe you bastard you beat me to the STALKER crossover. good luck anyway
Such is life in the Zone, etc.
Well good sir, you have my attention. I recently finished Call of Pripyat, and now i find myself wanting more to do with the Stalker universe. Guess i'll have to buy SoC now, eh?
aside from a few errors (( you said slightly when you meant to say slightest, as one example)) this is a good read.
This looks cool. I'm barely familiar with the Stalker games, but this should be interesting anyway.
I can't wait till the second installment.
It's a good story! I've never gotten into S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or any of the lore aside from the tvtropes page, but I think I'll have to now that you've made this.
Prologue
"It didn’t react in the slightly to her"
Shouldn't it be slightest?
Story hasn't hooked me yet, but will continue reading.
I hope to try out stalker when my new PC arrives...
It suddenly occurred to me that humans wouldn't do this. Unlike in movies, human instincts urge us to confront the threat, preferably through stalking and ambush. As long as we have a means to kill it, that is or feel confident in our barehands.
Most stalkers probably use some trips out of the Zone as vacations. It is likely they'd treat their trip to where you are as a vacation, too.