In Shackles

Madness... utter madness.

Students out of school, Armies out of their regions... is anyone in Ursus where they should be?

Should we take them in for questioning?

You can't say you don't recognize their uniforms! How many commoners do you think there could be in those schools?

You want to take all these noble sons and daughters back to the station, and wait for the counts and dukes to show up to claim them?

I...

So... do we just let them go?

Use your brain, mudak! There might be assassins among them. Who am I supposed to hand over to the council if they come looking, you?

I...

Gosudar... one more year and I'll be in the Duma and out of this hellhole...

Why did it have to be now? Damn it all!

How much room do we have in the prisons?

Well, if we clear out everyone who's about to lose their head, we might have room for—

...Think carefully. Can our prisons really take so many?

Uh... maybe not?

Of course, of course.

But I know the perfect place to hold these lawless lunatics...

Gosudar-batyushka... can someone tell me how I come back to this trash heap to find a dozen trucks filled with kids waiting for me?

Oh, the police say they're out of space in the jails and needed to borrow Katorga for these prisoners who were causing trouble at the ball.

Never seen the cops so polite! And they left you a letter.

'Honorable'... 'Katorga'... 'useless things'...

Give it to me. I'll read it myself.

......

'Useless things'? That fool of a superintendent has no idea how valuable this opportunity is.

Bring me Gromov. I will be making numerous visits to important people starting tomorrow. He's in charge while I'm away.

Boss got drunk last night, he's not up yet—there must be something in that backstreet bar's drinks!

Mudak, how much am I paying you scum to keep the peace?

Dump a bucket of ice water on his head NOW, and tell him to take good care of our guests.

Not one musbeast gets out of Katorga without my say-so.

You want us to 'take care' of them? You want them alive, or?

My dear Khvoin, I know your little brain can't handle complex instructions, so I'm trying to use language that even YOU will understand.

Do NOT engage in your usual habits. Do NOT touch a single hair on these people's heads... you understand who 'these people' are, don't you?

Tch.

Do not forget who pays you the money that you waste in those dirty little bars. And don't you dare forget my words.

Their lives have been worth more than yours since the day they were born into their noble names.

Phew... almost there.

Good... didn't see anyone on the way... don't seem to be any guards around...

Hmm... is there somebody behind me?

Hello?

You scared me!

Who are you? Why are you in the energy pipes—I mean, I'm here too, but you gotta explain!

Oh, I can explain later, but right now, I could really use some help...

I think I might have misjudged the width of this pipeline before I squeezed in.

Could you maybe give me a push?

Fine... not like I can get out if I don't.

You push too. Hrgh—

Phew... thanks.

I didn't think there'd be somebody else sneaking in with me. Are you looking for someone too?

You too?!

My friends got arrested a couple of days ago. I heard they might be inside, so I came to check it out.

I'm Rosalind, but my friends call me Leto. What about you?

Ukusik... stupid name that my friends gave me.

Ukusik! That's easy to remember.

Is your friend with the Student Assembly?

Student Assembly? Never heard of it. We've got our own name, the Unbound!

Cool name! But I've never heard it either.

I figure they must be good people, if you're crawling through energy pipes to help them.

They're... really good people. And my home is here.

...Home?

Excuse me! Have you seen any other students around here?

Good heavens, did you just crawl out of the sewers or something?

Well, yeah actually.

Alright, that's close enough. We can talk at this distance. Gosudar...

Wait, you're from the Self-Government Group... I almost mistook you for those Unbound tramps.

Unbound...

Rude, uncouth ruffians... their leader is the worst of the lot. Who does he think he is, acting like he's in charge? What titles do his parents hold?

You saw Antosha? Where are they?!

Just go east from here, and you'll find them behind those filthy factory buildings.

Don't thank me, just... keep moving.

Naum... why don't we go back?

We don't know the situation, and those thugs don't look like they can be reasoned with... besides, I heard there are already students who have gone missing.

Enough, 'Pencil Stub'. You want to hang out with those peasants, you go back on your own. I will not stay and listen to another uncouth word they say.

Hey! Why are you talking about them like that?

What's going on? Who locked you up? What's up with this factory?

We have no idea. The cops grabbed us the night before last outside the ballroom. We're not sure why they took us here.

No cops in this place, but it's patrolled by some street thugs. I overheard them say that the man in charge is named Pavlovich...

I'll remember that. There will be hell to pay when I get out of here.

We must be here by some mistake. I don't know how the misunderstanding happened, but I don't plan on accepting his apology so easily.

Did you sneak in from outside? Is there a way out?

You could get out through the energy pipes, but I'm not sure if big guys like you will fit.

Maybe we, er...

What? You want to crawl through these pipes that can barely fit a musbeast?

I guarantee somebody will be here to pick us up soon.

Shh—someone's coming!

I swear I saw something go past!

You swear? Hah, mochi perkhoti, just fart next time, at least you'll make a sound!

What a waste of time! Even tuskbeasts know to look for a dry slope to dig a hole in on a day like this, and we gotta watch this stupid hole on this ugly wall!

You still got booze?

Blyat, stop drinking! We only need to watch this hole for another day, then someone will be here to fill it up. You give me that look again, and I'll smash your skull with this bottle!

Oh, you wanna see whose skull is harder? Go on, try. You better kill me in one hit, because if you don't, I'm gonna kill you and sell your skin to Gromov for booze.

(Seething) Alright, you want a fight, you'll get one! Chort, I love your crazy. Say, you wanna try some wine made from blood?

Human blood? You can make wine from human blood?

Tuskbeast blood, dura. Whose blood did you think it was, mine? I'm not as crazy as you.

Say... how far do we have to haul this?

Beats me. Hide it where nobody goes. Pavlovich won't let us do this stuff.

I hate taking orders from that mudak.

What can you say, he pays the bills.

I'm tired. What do these students eat? How did they get so fat?

Hey, I've got an idea.

There's a hole here, and we've got a thing. We put the thing in the hole—

And we'll be free to go drink.

You're a damned genius!

Come, I'll take you to my vodka stash.

Oh, how sweet. Come, lemme give you a big, warm hug...

What are they doing...?

What's in that sack?

—!

No... no—!!!

(Whispers) Shh! Shut up!

I told you, I saw something.

Sure, sure, smart guy.

Pavlovich says we can't kill them.

He was talking about the nobles, mudak... besides, there must be hundreds of them. He wouldn't know if a few went missing.

You... you're going to...

No... no...

I'll hold them off! Go on without me—

Don't be a hero! Look at their weapons!

Run—!

Did you see how many there were?

We would have been screwed if we fought them!

Are these the people watching over this turf?

Who are they? Why do they have military-grade weapons, if they're not cops?

No idea. Here, they're the same as the police... all meanies.

Didn't you say Antosha's guys were here? I didn't see them.

I... I...

Looks like this one's scared stupid.

Hey, Leto, we gotta find a way to get around this corner. Do you see those two—

Block 7 clear. You can come out and clean now.

Antosha! Found you!

Ukusik?

What are you doing here? I thought you got away that night—

You're alive! Some people said you're dead, some people said you got locked up, I didn't know what to do.

Where's Matvey? Are you alright? Are you listening to me?

We're fine. We'll be even finer if you raise your voice any louder and draw the attention of those thugs.

Hey! Stop making fun of me!

We're fine. Matvey, Yura... everyone's here.

Ukusik!

Uwah...

Well... glad you're alright.

You... you killed people...

You're barbarians... murderers...

Where are you going? Come back!

Forget him... where did you find this fool?

Picked him up over there.

This is not a shelter. We don't have time for people like these.

So we chase them away? Is it okay if those thugs kill them?

Antosha, you need to be careful. You may not care whether he lives or dies, but allowing him to run around may draw unwanted attention.

Antosha! Someone's coming!

She's armed, and there's blood on her weapon. She looks dangerous.

Just one? I'll deal with her.

Wait, she's not a threat—

General!

I thought those bastards had rounded up all the students in the area. Looks like you've protected a good bunch.

Your name's Antosha? I'm Sonya.

You're a student at University of Deity Grypherburg too?

Not exactly... but I'm working with them, for now.

I heard your people surrounded the ballroom that night just to shout a few slogans.

Yeah, it wasn't the best idea.

I don't know Grypherburg so well... what can you tell me about what's going on? What is this place?

This is Katorga Raion, a former penal industrial plate. It's been derelict for a long time, and even the power supply has been cut.

I heard the city was planning to abandon the place entirely and discard it in the wilderness.

But there are so many people here now, including us...

I'm guessing it's because of the aristocratic students on your side.

The police didn't want to have to deal with them, so they sent you here... Katorga is nominally a place for the government to hold criminals, after all.

Alright. I guess it's not that complicated.

The problem is, Katorga is now being run by a bunch of lunatics.

Armed with weapons that no one knows how they got, killing for the sheer fun of it... something seems to be holding them back, for now, but no one knows what will happen if things continue on like this.

Maybe we can work together.

How many people do you have?

Well... they're not exactly my people, but there are around two hundred students trapped here with me.

Spoiled nobles aren't good for much, no matter how many there are.

I'm in no position to protect you.

General Zima doesn't need your protection!

At least we want the same thing, for now. And if you can trust what you just saw me do, you can believe that we'll fight those thugs and get out of here together.

Sorry for attacking you.

It's all good. Fists can talk, and yours told me you're an okay guy. Where did you learn your moves?

Plenty of opportunities on the streets.

Let me make this clear: just because we're working together doesn't make us allies. Our camps will remain separate, but we can spare you some supplies.

Much appreciated. We will do as you say, and make these supplies count. We can discuss joint operations when the time comes.

Deal. See you around, Sonya.

And take your friends... minus one now, I suppose.

(Shivers)

...Thank you for protecting them.

Thanks for the help, little Ukusik.

Don't call me that—

Ugh, never mind. You be careful. See ya.

You look terrible, General! Are you alright?

I'm fine... how's everyone? Anybody hurt?

Zoya's got a scratch, but nothing serious.

Good.

I didn't think you would come in here on your own... did Istina plan this?

Couldn't wait for a plan. I was afraid it might be too late, so I left a note and came.

Sorry for acting without permission. If you're mad—

No...

Thank you, Leto.

Hey, not so tight! That's maybe a little too much... Sonya?

Are you...

Are you scared?

Don't be stupid.

It's alright! I'm here now. Put us together, and we can take down anything.

If two fists won't do it, add two more!

Besides, there are so many people out there, and so many more fists!

Good point, Leto.

I won't be scared anymore.

......

'Sonya.' The name is unfamiliar to us. She was not one of them.

I know. I won't take it out on her.

...I'm just reminded of the professor.

Same here, Antosha.

Do you remember why I was the first person you thought of when you formed the Unbound?

You were one of the few in the old gang who came from commoner stock. You knew hardship, knew how to produce, and how to survive in Ursus.

Yes, survive. Only through survival can we achieve our ideals. We have to get out of this alive.

The others need your command now. You must pull yourself together.

......

Yura, why does Antosha look so terrible?

That one's wearing a Student Assembly badge. That was our design, from back when we were all in the Petrachevsky Group.

The Petrachevsky Group? What's that?

No one told you? Antosha was the first leader of the Petrachevsky Group. After the death of our professor, we were reported by the other students and expelled.

But others escaped punishment because of their upbringing, and they continue to do stupid, despicable things under the group's old name.

Especially their leader, Olga! We will never forgive her!

This Petrachevsky Group... several dukes had children in it, and a group went to His Imperial Majesty to beg for amnesty.

Wait a second.

Who's this Petrachevsky?

Professor of Literature at the University of Deity Grypherburg, and one of those traitors who printed pamphlets slandering the tsar. How could you not know the name?

There are more traitors in the universities than papers they've published! How am I supposed to remember them all?

Order!

(Whisper) Your Honor, the next two witnesses are of the nobility. They may need more time to prepare...

...Very well.

While some of this information has already been made public, we will now once again review Sonya's deeds in Katorga Raion...