Pripyat Sniper Battle. (Sofia, Alisa, & Chad)

Description:

Pripyat is a ghost town near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, part of Kiev Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine, near the border with Belarus. Pripyat had a defined city centre where the city hall (or city council), the largest shopping centres, major recreational and public catering facilities and the Polissya hotel were located. The triangular plan featured alternating five-story buildings and high-rises, with the city lined with broad vistas, open spaces, and the horizon visible from almost every corner. Unlike the old cities with their tiny yards and narrow streets, Pripyat had been initially planned to look free and vivid, all for the comfort of its inhabitants. Besides the calculated boost of street space, the goal had been achieved by making the streets and blocks symmetrical. Taken together, these solutions were intended to immunize Pripyat from such scourges of modern times as traffic jams.


Total living space was 658,700 m2: 13,414 apartments in 160 apartment blocks, 18 halls of residence accommodating up to 7,621 single males or females, and 8 halls of residence for married or de facto couples, as well as its own Amusement Park.

The current setting of the city is winter time, snow is on the ground and its very, very cold. Its also night time. Only rule is that you cannot start off in a high position, gotta work your was through and too a building to set up. Makin' it more realistic. As an added bonus, we dont have to worry about radiation. T'is a free-for-all.

Spoiler:

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Alisa sat at the outskirts of Pripyat looking through a pair of binoculars scanning over the town she could see snow slowly sprinkle down from the heavens onto the ghost town. She lowered them and made her way to the ATV she'd used to get to this point and took a rifle case from the rack placed on the back. Opening it she ran her fingers across each individual piece of her rifle. It wasn't the rifle she'd normally use but it was her's all the same a DSR-1 chambered for .338 Lapua Magnum rounds. She quickly assembled the weapon and slid a 4 round magazine loaded into the magazine well before chambering a round into the rifle.

Placing the rifle aside she made sure to slide her MK-23 handgun into it's holster. She took a glance at her PLR-16 for a moment before grabbing it as well and clipping the sling to the side of her vest so it hung at her side. She wouldn't carry it around but she'd keep it nearby in case it was needed. Satisfied with her equipment she slowly slid down a snow bank keeping an eye open for anything that could be deemed hostile. So many years she'd spent doing this she knew that even the most peaceful environment could turn into a warzone in a split moment.

Pripyat was basically abandoned according to field reports but that was no reason for her to get sloppy. As she made her way to the bottom of the slope she quickly took up her rifle and made her way to a nearby car. She took a slight peek through the dirty windows of the car looking for any sign of movement and when she was satisfied that there was none to be found she quickly stepped out from the cover of the car and began moving towards one of the multi-story living units built to house the former inhabitants of the Pripyat.

Modern transportation equaled noise, noise equaled unwanted attention, something she didn't want while trying to set up. A working vehicle or some other form of transportation driving down the abandoned streets of Pripyat would of been very easy to pick out. Sofia was very specific in her terms of transport to the target area, having ridden all the way to the check point and continued on foot from there, she made it a point to stay away from any of the streets. Luckily, the cold weather was kept at bay by her jacket, her breath being visible due to the cold. Trudging through the snow toward the treeline ahead, Sofia had her standard equipment. Slung over her shoulder was her rifle, an Accuracy International AWM, familiarly slung over her shoulder by a strap.

Normally the cold weather made most other rifles unreliable, but the AWM was built for cold temperatures so it didn't bother her, hell it wasn't even within the realm of her thoughts at the moment. She didn't keep many weapons or much equipment in general, if she learned anything in her past it was how to improvise, the only other weapons she had with her was her sidearm and knife because most of the time its really all she needed. Finally making it to the treeline, Sofia crouched down behind one of the many barren trees that lined the outskirts of the city and looked into the skeleton of what used to be Pripyat, keeping herself behind the trunk as much as possible. This was almost the perfect battlefield...for her anyway. Now all she needed to do was find a place to scope out the city, but not the tallest place. After the first shot was fired, that was generally where most people looked.

She needed something just right. Something with a decent view but didn't stick out, and considering the dozens of identical buildings that made up the Ghost Town she was in that shouldn't be hard. Moving out from the behind the tree and working through the treeline, Sofia bolted out across the small gap and placed her back against one of the many buildings that were clustered together, sliding her rifle from her arm and shouldering it, she slowed her breath. She'd gotten a decent outlook of the surroundings from the treeline, now she just needed a moment to think over which building to set up in.


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((OOC: If anyone's wondering wtf treeline I'm talking about, it'd be in the last picture in the spoiler above, bottom left. Just for reference.))

At the last possible minute, Chad had been given an assignment to head to Pripyat, Russia. He didn't know why. He was just handed his orders, and that was it. In the event that he'd run into hostile's, he brought along his sniper rifle, sidearm, and his trusty combat knife. All of which were well kept.

At this point, he had been walking for a while. A helicopter had dropped him off miles away from the town for some unknown reason. Then again, being a sniper, he knew that it was best to stay out of sight of anyone who might want to kill him. It was a fair trade. As he came upon the outskirts of the town, he looked from building to building. I need to find the most opportune location to scout out the area. Something with a nice vantage point. However, every spot that would normally be a good location, suddenly seemed too obvious. So he decided to look for something a bit less obvious. As he made his way through the deserted town, he stuck to the shadows. His pretty much entirely black outfit helped him to blend in well enough that it would be real hard to spot him.

Alisa slowly made her way to the door of one of the many living units and gripped the door knob but frowning as it was locked. Abandoning the door as breaching it would make to much noise she opted to enter through a window bringing her PLR-16 to bear as she slowly made her way through the halls. The only sound being her boots clicking against the floor with every step she took. She didn't know why she'd been given this assignment. But she knew already she didn't like it the environment just plain creeped her out. She was used to being in places with some type of life. But Pripyat seemed dead as if all life had left it long ago. She stopped as she heard something move nearby. She slowly made her way to the hall and glanced inside. In the hall were a pair of dogs eating something she couldn't identify.

Alisa slowly stepped into the hall accidentely stepping on a piece of glass causing the dogs to turn towards her growling. The dogs in Pripyat hadn't had human contact for years giving them no reason to fear or respect humans in any way. Alisa kept her eyes focused on them hopefully they weren't hungry and would just let her leave. The dogs kept their eyes on Alisa for a moment more before turning away to finish their meal. Alisa let out a quiet sigh as she looked back and saw a staircase. Taking one last look at the dogs she walked up the staircase hoping to find a good place to set up somewhere upstairs.

As she reached the second floor she found herself in a run down hall. Any type of wall paper or decoration had long rotted away from the walls giving way to vines and dirt. Alisa looked down the hall keeping her PLR-16 at the ready as she took slow steps not wanting to make too much noise. She stopped as she reached an empty room with a slightly shattered window. She took a moment to look outside she scanned her surroundings.

The window gave her a good look at a few of the other buildings in the area but a few were outside of her line of sight. Alisa thought for a moment before placing her PLR down on the ruined couch in the room before closing the door to the room slowly before unslinging her DSR-1 and grabbing a dirty blanket that had been lying on the couch. She tossed it over her head and shoulders letting it cloak her the blanket was the same ruined color as the room making it a good cover plus it would keep her a bit warmer improving her aim.

The darkness of night gave her the advantage of cover, while it hindered anyone else's ability to see long distances. It wasn't like Pripyat had working light posts every few feet. Pitch blackness was all around them. Even with their eyes adjusted to the dark, a normal human wouldn't be able to see too terribly far even with a scope.....unless it had nightvision. Sofia lowered herself slowly to one knee and peaked around the corner of the building she was currently taking cover behind and lifted her rifle. Her AWM had the benefit of night optics, giving her night vision and the ability to see better in the dark.

Hopefully no one else had that benefit. She sat still, her keen eye looking through the scope as she panned to the left slowly, taking in whatever things of interest she could. A few wild dogs looming the street several hundred yards ahead of her were the only signs of life she could make out, then again she could hardly be considered to be within the city at the moment.

Sofia inhaled slowly before releasing the breath, it being visible by the cold air around her. Her main problem right now would be making it to a higher place, though that was just out of preference. Higher places gave better viewpoints, but she had night vision in her scope, meaning that she, or so she hoped, had the best view. There seemed to be a cluster of buildings in front of her, and a large street in front of them, followed by a several storied building on the other side. Sofia pulled herself back around the building and thought it over. There was no way in hell she was going to bolt all the way across, she might as well make use of the building cluster in front of her and use them as cover.

Moving our from behind the small housing building she had taken cover behind, Sofia moved up to another one a few feet ahead of her and put her back to that wall as well, she did this until she was behind the house closest to the street. She peaked around the corner, then lowered herself into a prone position and put up her rifle bipod. Having most of her body hidden behind the house and the barrel of her rifle hidden by the darkness of night, Sofia felt comfortable she wouldn't be spotted unless someone had night vision as well. Sofia scanned the windows of the building across the street from her, starting from the first floor windows then working her way up.

Alisa sat quietly the only sounds being her breathing and the howl of the wind outside. She'd chosen her position but still had little knowledge of her foes she had little to no intel on the mission she'd only received instructions to deploy herself in the area. Alisa closed her eyes taking a deep breath before opening them once more looking through the window all she could see was snow falling outside in the darkness. She cursed herself silently for not bringing her Night Vision Scope along for the mission. She sighed and propped her rifle against the wall next to her. She sighed as she slowly stood up approaching the window with her small pair of binoculars. She looked out the window panning her sight over the open area in front of her. She then took a seat against the wall pulling out a cigarette and placing it between her lips. She knew that it wasn't the best time to smoke especially in a combat zone but she had no idea where her enemy was or even who they were. She pulled out a zippo lighter and lit the cancer stick taking a short drag and blowing the smoke out through her nose. She'd wait for a while longer before moving on to a different position. She wished she had received more intel on this mission before being deployed but apparently she'd need to operate with the little information given.

Alisa took another drag of her cigarette the tip of the stick burning a bright red as she took in a lungful of nicotine. "This mission is shit..." Alisa muttered placing the cigarette between her lips and getting to her feet pulling the dirty blanket around her shoulders more to fend off the cold.

OOC: Okay, time to take Chad out of the game since he's not interested and left himself to wander.
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Patience was a virtue, no one knew that better than Sofia, the fact she was now covered in snow from not having moved from her position during her entire time of scanning the surrounding buildings proved this. Slow and steady breaths were barely visible to even her in the dark, cold surroundings she now inhabited, waiting for her target(s) to show themselves. The surrounding snow fall added to her benefit, aside from covering her in a make-shift camouflage that hid her rather well, anyone skulking around would clearly be audible with the crunch of the snow at their feet, something she keenly listened for even while looking down her scope. It wasn't long before her wait was over and the light crunch of snow was heard around her, even so she remained still - unmoving.

Most of her body was parallel with the small building she was using for cover and covered with quite a bit of snow, including her rifle and its barrel, she felt confident she was camouflaged enough to go unnoticed, at least long enough for her to take advantage of it. Her first target was pretending to be sneaky, trying to scout the area. An easy target considering he chose to walk right by where she was set up. Considering he was so close she thought it best not to let off any rounds this time, a much more quieter action had popped into her mind. Chad, keeping close to the wall as he continued forward, walked into a trap Sofia had set.

Using the howl of the icy wind to cover her minute movement of quickly pacing her hand on the back of her waist, gripping her knife handle, the Sniper waited until her target was directly in front of her. Springing up from her prone position in a powerful uplift of the snow atop of her just as the enemy 'sniper' passed before her, looking off into the city in his version of 'scouting', the ex-Mossad agent's right hand familiarly retrieved her KA-BAR combat knife from its sheath while reaching out with her left, covering the mans mouth from behind before ramming the knife blade into the right side of his neck at a downward angle, severing several arteries in its process of plunging in inside of the collarbone.

An indifferent expression with cold, merciless eyes looked at the gruesome scene as crimson fluid gushed from the wound and as the man struggled, though it quickly ended before she dragged the mans body inside the tiny building in which she was using for cover and left it for whatever local wildlife to feed on. Blood stained fingerless gloves gripped her rifle once more before she bolted across the street toward the multi-story building which she previously examined and made her way inside.

Alisa sat oblivious to the death of one of her adversaries. She closed her eyes as she flicked her ashes into the small pile of snow sitting next to her that had flowed in through the window. Her ears perked up however as she heard barking coming from downstairs she glanced out through the broken portion of her window and could see the dogs that had been downstairs rushing out as a pack. She frowned wondering where the beasts were heading. She grabbed her rifle and slung it over her back before looking outside with her binoculars. The dogs were heading out across the courtyard but she soon lost sight of them due to the poor conditions. "Shit..." Alisa muttered before getting to her feet and grabbing what gear she'd packed with her. She finished off her cigarette and put it out in the snow before slipping the butt into one of her vest pockets. She draped the blanket she was using as a cloak over the back of the couch before heading downstairs as she reached the staircase she gasped as her foot knocked over a can causing it to tumble down the stairs the sound echoing through the halls of the building. She remained completely still after the can had come to a stop on the ground floor listening to any sign that she'd been heard or discovered. At the same time she was mentally cursing herself for her mistake.

When she heard nothing in response to her blunder she let out a relieved sight watching her breath turn to steam in front of her. She quickly made her way downstairs quickly yet quietly and walked outside. She could still hear her canine friends barking in the distance after moving for what seemed like hours through the back alleys and streets she could hear the clear sound of the dogs but this time they didn't seem to be barking. She slowly inched her way toward the window she could hear the dogs making noise inside the small building. She couldn't help but be curious as to what could have drawn their attention so easily. She peaked in through a break in the window and could see the dogs eating something but whatever this was it was fresh she could still see the steam rising from the body where fresh wounds had been made. After a close observation she ducked back down and took a breath. That was definitely a body and she was pretty sure he hadn't killed himself judging from the small trail of blood she saw leading inside. It was obvious she wasn't alone now but she still had no intel regarding her enemy or what assets they possessed for all she knew she could be facing an enemy way more prepared than she was. She closed her eyes and sorted her thoughts out thinking like that wouldn't help her anymore than it would help that poor bastard being eaten like puppy chow in that shack.

She pulled out her MK-23 and slowly made her way to the front of the shack keeping a sharp eye out for her enemy. She frowned as she saw a large amount of blood staining the snow outside she came a bit closer and could see where the snow had been disturbed. It seemed like the unfortunate man had stepped right in front of his murderer judging from the imprint a body in the snow. Her eyes scanned the snow but found no signs to follow except for a few small drops of blood leading away but those were quickly being covered by the snow fall rapidly. Gritting her teeth as she felt an icy chill wash over her she quickly moved toward one of the buildings down the street from the shack but stopped as she felt her foot impact something partway buried by the snow. She looked down at the Sniper rifle that had probably belonged to the dead man inside and picked it up frowning it was way heavier than her rifle and a quick observation told her everything she needed to know. The rounds it fired were meant for light anti-vehicle duty instead of sniping. She debated for a second to take the rifle or not and sighed before picking up the heavy weapon and hefting it through a window before climbing in herself. This building was just as dark as all the others she'd been in.

She set herself up on the ground floor in one of the living units of the building. The living unit was well insulated keeping some of the cold out except for a bit that drifted in through one of the open windows. Sighing she placed the dead man's rifle against the window sill before sitting down against the wall next to it her own rifle placed in her lap. At this point she had no idea how long she'd be out here so it was time to choose a place for her base of operations in the area. She was half tempted to light another cigarette but to do so could give away her position. She'd heard that during World War II Soviet Snipers landed shots on German Soldiers from the red tip of their cigarettes she didn't want to remake mistakes of the past.

Sofia sat in a room located on the third floor of the building across from her recent victims resting place, after moving into the building and up the stairs; trash and objects from the past littered the floor. She had her back slouched against the wall so any part of her head wouldn't be visible through the window above her; her rifle was laid across her lap. Her right pant leg was stained with blood from being used to clean her knife's blade of the impure crimson fluid which once stained it, a red smear was on her cheek from the blood splatter, along with bits of red on her green gloves. One target was neutralized, only one was left; the only problem was finding her. The sniper would take this moment to warm herself.

Despite her heavy jacket, the chill could still be felt; it was the northern Ukraine after all. Sofia cupped her hands around her mouth and warmed her fingers with a hot breath, flexing them repeatedly afterwards. She was used to working in deserts or jungles, and while snowy terrain wasn't anything new for her, that didn't mean she enjoyed it; but she'd rather be here than sweating non-stop in some desert or humid jungle. Atleast the cold allowed one to go numb first, right? Better than heat stroke, in her opinion.

She had an entire city to cover and she couldn't do that frozen, but she wouldn't stay for long. The blackness outside no longer proved to be that much of a problem due to her eyes having adjusted, which would allow her to traverse the region without much of a problem, but the darkness was still too thick in places to see clearly; a result of the complete lack of light from the pitch black clouds overhead. She'd have to rely on her rifle to see further than a few dozen yards. The entire time she sat there, she listened intently to her surroundings. It was quiet, so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard. She took advantage of this to listen for any crunch of snow or signs of life around her.

It didn't take long before she heard the sound of barking. Dogs. Left to wander the streets of the dead city and eat what little inhabitants it had, probably running toward the body she left in the shack across the street. Picking up a piece of broken glass on the floor not far away, coming from a broken mirror, she lifted it up and angled it to get a dull view of the street. The most she could see were blurred shadows, four-legged forms rushing into the cabin she'd left the body in. She left it for the beasts, but didn't think they would arrive so soon. However, moments later she caught a view of what she was looking for. A human form stood where her previous victim had, taking note of the depressed snow.

There you are...

She tilted the glass to follow the figure as far as she could, catching a glimpse of it retrieving something from the ground and then moved out of the mirrors range, causing her to stick her head out just enough for her to see over the ledge and catch a glimpse of the figure climb into a window, which made Sofia instantly drop her head back down.

Picking up a fallen weapon... What are you planning? The though excited her for some reason; the only enemy a sniper really had to fear was another sniper, and a person with a field-radio. She couldn't help but feel a tingle in her spine, was Alisa planning to use it as a distraction and catch her off guard? Or maybe she was going to use it as a secondary weapon with its anti-tank rounds? Sofia lowered the piece of glass and set in on the floor as she thought it over, a dark smirk appearing on her lips as her hand slid into the grip of her rifle. It was time to get higher..to move higher. It had been a while since she'd had the thrill of leading someone with her scope, the excitement of putting someone down without being seen; a thrill even she would rarely admit to. Staying crouched to avoid detection, she moved away from the window toward the door, and once in the hallway, she bolted down the corridor toward the several flights of stairs which would lead to the higher floors. Her target? Fifth floor, putting her two floors below the roof. Then she'd begin the task of taking down this one as well.

Alisa cupped her hands around her mouth breathing onto them and rubbing them together trying to garner some warmth back to her. She had no idea where her adversary was and that unnerved her to no end. She had no idea what type of training her enemy had either which just made her even more uncomfortable with her situation. For all she knew she could be facing another sniper. judging from the dead man she'd found earlier. And that meant she was in a whole different situation then she'd previously thought. She barely had any orders whatsoever when she'd been deployed into the Area of Operations but now it was clear what they were. Alisa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The frigid air of Chernobyl stung her lungs a bit as she breathed in. After a few moments she sighed and stood up making sure to stay out of the windows. If she was facing other Snipers she needed to be extra careful and that meant every window was a object of opportunity for her enemies

She quickly left the room slinging her rifle over her shoulder before heading to the back door of the building. She'd keep her base camp in mind for if she needed a place to rest but to stay in one place too long was definitely a bad idea. As she exited through a door heading out behind the building she took a moment to sort out her priorities and her rules of engagement. Any shots she made definitely needed to be shots to kill and she needed to be more cautious while traveling. Using streets were out of the question now that the possibility of facing opposing snipers was in the equation. She'd need to stay out of sight and more importantly she needed to find her opponent.

It didn't take long for the Sniper to reach her target floor and branch off from the stairway, dashing down the hall in the direction opposite of the building she saw her target enter. Her enemy would no doubt try to find a suitable place to set up now that she knew another sniper was in the area, there was no way her target would stay on the ground floor; any sniper in their right mind wouldn't in this terrain. There was plenty of cover, plenty of places that would act as a perfect snipers nest. Sofia was going to take advantage of the time the unfriendly sniper would take to find such a place and set up her own snipers nest.


Sofia got a decent understanding of the buildings layout from the outside earlier. She had a total of seven floors to work with, and she could only estimate how many rooms the place held. However, she took note of two more staircases as she bolted down the hall, making a mental list of exits that didn't involve jumping from the fifth floor window, she needed to cover all her bases. Sofia slowed herself and turned into a room at the far end of the hall; like the rest of the building it was rundown and raggedy. She closed the door behind her and set herself up by the window, though she kept low against the wall to keep her head from being a target. She could see the building Alisa entered from an angle now, and the entire street if she sat up, including the window she climbed in. The only thing that had to be sorted out now was who'd make the mistake of taking the first shot.

Alisa slowly moved up the second floor she'd been very careful to avoid any windows or doorways that faced the street she still had no idea where her target was but after being out in the open so long she had to take into consideration that she may have been spotted moving about. As she reached the second floor she moved slowly avoiding any light streaming in from the windows. There wasn't really much but she needed to ensure that she stayed out of sight. As she reached the end of the hall she climbed up another staircase and continued upward till she reached the 4th floor once there she stopped taking a knee behind a wall. The 4th floor would do for now until she needed to relocate. As she entered a room she closed the door behind her moving slowly as to not draw attention to herself. As she moved to the window she glanced outside frowning as she still had no line of sight. The snow was definitely picking up along with the wind. This served for horrible shooting conditions something that would either help or hinder her later possibly both.

She moved over to the wall between the two windows inside the room and took a deep breath taking a short glance out the window only seeing the snow being whipped about in the wind.