Metro Exodus Diaries Part Seven

This is my ongoing exploration of the Metro series, played in release order, where I will chronicle my playthrough like a text-based Let’s Play. This time I continue Metro Exodus.

We had crossed the bridge and made contact with the Ark, but at the cost of Duke’s life…

It had taken some time, but we were on our final approach to the Ark. It had only been a few months since we left Moscow behind, it was hard to believe that our journey was almost over. And surely it was, because Miller couldn’t have been lied to.

As we approached, the radiation levels started to rise, so Anna and I joined Miller, Sam, Idiot and Krest on his railcar, while the train returned to a safe zone. Though I noticed that Stepan didn’t put on his gas mask when everyone else did… We approached the mountain, though things didn’t look brilliant. There were dozens of abandoned cars beside the rail tracks - it was no wonder that Nastya had already said that she hadn’t liked the look of the surrounding area…

Out on your mask Stepan, you absolute madlad

Krest said that he wanted to get out of here, before a security turret came to life and addressed us. Miller responded and the gates opened, which we took advantage of and went inside. At the end of the tunnel was an elevator, so Miller told Anna and me to accompany him, while the other two stayed here to avoid crowding the government.

Anna and Miller were in good spirits as we descended, with Anna needling her father about having to say a speech, as well as still needing to thank me. If not for my reckless trips to the surface, we wouldn’t be here.

The doors opened and we entered an area in front of a darkened viewing window. Bright floodlights blinded us, and Miller saluted the five figures that we could barely see. He asked for temporary quarters for the woman and child aboard the train - which made the commander finally speak. “Women and children? Good! Haven’t had those in awhile…”

This does not look good

While Miller was babbling questions, I took notice of the sounds of laughter and movement coming from around us. I readied my gun and shot several of them, but in seconds we were overrun and knocked unconscious. Artyom just straight up attracts concussions like a magnet at this point…

Waking shortly afterwards, Miller was being worked over and Anna was being held by a man in a top that matched hers. Our host, a man known only as Minister, wanted to run some tests on Anna - he didn’t like the sound of her cough - and went off with her while Miller was tied down to be prepared for dinner. As the main course, in case you missed the fact that this facility was full of cannibals.

It's weird how that rando and Anna were wearing the same outfit

Thankfully, moments after the Minister left, Sam and Idiot arrived to save us. We fought off some hungry men while Idiot fixed the spiral elevator, then we got the heck out of there. Miller told me to check the barracks and sickbay for Anna, while they checked other places. This facility was built like D6, so we knew our way around - more or less.

Getting off the lift, I flicked a switch and was confused when the lights went out but nothing else happened. I looked around looting, and picked up a diary entry from one of the people who constructed the Ark. Apparently they were here when all of the nukes went off, so were safe - but only had enough food for a few months.

Eventually, I came across a junction box and turned the lights on, also opening the door next to me a pinch. Squeezing through, I was set upon by cannibals screaming that I was food. I shot the lot of them, looted the kitchen and found a second diary entry. Apparently it was made shortly after they began making soup out of people - the first taste made you sick, but the second…

Reaching the barracks, I cleared it out pretty well, and apparently silently despite the loud shouting and blazing unsuppressed gunfire. Because as I reached the final room, a cannibal was muttering to himself while looking through a fridge. I snuck up behind him and he finished looking, turned around, shouted “food” and I knocked him out.

Personally I wouldn't keep entire heads out on the table, but you do you

The next room was a bit of a challenge, as I shot a few cannibals before they were joined by one who was heavily armoured. It took far too much ammo, before I turned to dynamite - of which I only had one lot. Luckily, I did have several molotov cocktails, which soon murdered him good. I grabbed his minigun and fought off the few stragglers, before entering the sickbay.

With not a lot to find in the rest of it, I was glad to come to the end and find Anna tied to a chair. Artyom seems to be the only one who wasn’t expecting Minister to grab me from behind after untying one of Anna’s arms, but that’s what happened. Thankfully it wasn’t more brain damage, but a struggle with a pipe. Even more thankfully, was that Anna quickly freed herself and pulled Minister off of me.

Thanks, wife!

He begged for his life and mentioned that he’d told her about an expl- oh, but then she cut his throat. I’m 90% certain that he was going to mention an explosion, and that is something I would 100% care to have heard… She had been beaten a bit, and who knows what else, so she was unsteady on her feet as we went for the elevator. Miller and Idiot had secured the command centre, so we were rendezvousing there.

Along the hallway, I found another diary entry, this was the second entry from an officer. Apparently, a radio transmitter had been repaired - at the cost of at least two people. The officer had sent out a call for survivors, who spent weeks traveling to the Ark, and brought meat with them. He was told that they were put in quarantine, because he had been remanded in his room due to making the call. A month later, another group arrived and were also put in quarantine, but had also brought meat with them.

Reading between the lines - the survivors were being eaten. I only write that, as it took me a second reading of the entry to realise it, though I still don’t understand why he was removed from duty…

Arriving at the command centre, we were in time to witness Miller executing the final Ark commander. He was obviously unimpressed by having been led on, as well as the fact that they were eating people for 20 years. Idiot was working on the computers, and brought up a map of sites which had communicated with the Ark, though it was quite outdated. He mentioned that Caspian-1, a comms center, had been active for a few years, as well as one in Novosibirsk.

Sam came over the comm, saying that we needed to move, so we ran for the spiral elevator and got in, once Idiot had gotten what he could from the computers. I was still curious about this “eplo-” that Minister had mentioned, but I was being told to move, so I moved. As we went, Anna professed that she was quite attached to her husband, which I thought was sweet. I shot a bunch of cannibals as we went up, and we joined Sam at the railcar. Idiot and Sam fought off the growing wave of cannibals while Krest started the railcar and we all climbed aboard. A couple of molotov cocktails and a bunch of ammo later, we were out and safe…

Safe, but pretty bummed out

Back aboard the Aurora, Miller was lamenting how Hansa had been lying about getting orders all this time, and how this was all a wild goose chase. We couldn’t go back to Moscow without being shot on sight, so our other option was to create a colony of our own. Also, I couldn’t help but notice that Anna was coughing a lot more. She had mentioned it before the attack on the barge, but it hadn’t really been noticeable to now…

Idiot mentioned the facility in the Caspian Sea, 1,000km away, so we decided to head there. Our new mission was ahead of us, but it would take a while…