Machine Tractor Station Kharkov-37 04: ‘The Doll and the Skull’

*“In which the doctor grows in confidence as he issues advice to the troops based on his theories — but not everyone appreciates his input.”*

## The Doll and the Skull

### Players

Dominic Allen as Adm. Maj. Kopolev
Joseph Chance as Sr. Sgt. Dr. ‘Beo’ Liubimova
Danann McAleer as Sr. Lt. Fyodorov

### Podcast Link

MTSKh-37 04

The Red Army’s investigation uncovers evidence of refugees from nearby kolkhozy while the telegraph agents work on the rural electrification truck; the doctor voices some suspicions about the food and water supply.

## Synopsis (Spoiler Warning)

### Intro

As before, it opens with quotes from the upcoming episode, and from there into the continuing investigation board summarizing the events to date. Rulyova wonders if the account is accurate, but is assured the report comes from a “trusted” individual.

### Scene 1: Ongoing Investigations

Kopolev and Triepinov focus on getting the truck working, while Dugov works on repairing the lights. Meanwhile, the Red Army soldiers are tasked with digging through a few of the buildings. They find nothing of interest in the barn, but in the infirmary they confirm there are human bones, including several skulls. They notice that the barracks do not seem fit for use, so the men start setting up camp within the limits of the station walls — although Fyodorov has them set up at the back of the trucks, pointed back out for easier leaving, if necessary.

Beo takes a look at the sack of bones from the infirmary. He realizes that an accelerant has been used, marking it as a deliberate rather than accidental fire. On one skull, he finds evidence of a violent death; he is also able to tell that not all are adult male, and possibly women or children may have died here.

Kopolev and Triepinov work together to repair the truck (with Kopolev saving his comrade from near-disaster), while Fyodorov finds a non-modified version of the same truck in one of the garages, with a bed full of iodized water.

> You will blow us back to the tsardom!
>
> Adm. Maj. Kopolev

### Scene 2: Refugees

Fyodorov takes a few of the men to more fully investigate the garages. They are quite large, and the first one has been subdivided into what looks like a refugee camp, with scattered personal belongings and hung-up blankets serving as partitions. Upstairs, a mezzanine level of offices has also been given over to housing. It seems as though these people had either just arrived or were just about to leave. He sets the detachment to work looking through the personal effects. Beo notices that these were almost certainly citizens from nearby kolkhozy. Worried, he starts to instruct the men not to eat or drink anything from the area, then asks Fyodorov to make an announcement to that effect before musing with him about why these people would be here at the station.

> It’s like the old days, when they used to pull the peasants back in to the castle.
>
> Beo

At the second garage, they note the presence of an acrid smokey smell, like a lab. The ground level seems to be a workshop of some kind, cluttered with parts and tools. They both think it should be investigated by the telegraph agents, but Fyodorov also realizes it might be where they built the light arrays for the silo.

The final garage building is also set up like a refugee camp. Beo finds a child’s doll, realizing it would not have been willingly left behind: the people are gone, even if the bodies are not obvious.

### Scene 3: Theories

Kopolev and Triepinov head over from the truck, the four men coming together at the camp. Beo makes a little speech to the soldiers, warning them off of eating and drinking anything local, including any hunted or forged material. Fyodorov notices the soldiers are not particularly impressed by Beo’s warning and speaks to Blochinstev, who denies it but does speak briefly about keeping the lights facing in to the silo instead of pointed toward the rest of the work.

Kopolev and Beo look for each other, and Kopolev asks what they found in the garages. Beo shows him the skull with signs of a violent death and talks about the fire accelerant. He also mentions the refugees and his personal theory of a poison gas experiment, which Triepinov counters with a theory of radiation. Kopolev is extremely suspicious of Beo, his theory, and his behavior. They all agree they should leave as soon as possible, but disagree about what that actually means, with Kopolev insisting they need to uncover the secrets at the tractor station, including why the kolkhozy refugees came to this place, and Fyodorov concerned about the health of his men. Fyodorov points out they could simply repair the telegraph poles, and Kopolev outright refuses to move the elements of the light array, instead saying they will need to requisition replacement poles from elsewhere.

While they agree there is danger, they disagree strongly about what to do about it. Kopolev wants to gather as much evidence as possible before even presenting his own theory, while the Red Army men prefer to simply leave. This ramps up the tension between the two sides even further, neither respecting the other’s opinion nor authority. Fyodorov threatens to take his men and leave and further accuses Kopolev of sedition. Beo tries to calm them down, and Dugov comes over with news of the lights working again. Kopolev tells him to turn them on and keep them on, which Beo finds very suspicious. Fyodorov walks away to get the men ready to leave; Beo laughs his nervous laughter, causing Kopolev to snap and grab his throat before taking him away with Triepinov for a private conversation. The episode ends on this tense cliffhanger.

## Important NPCs

* Blochinstev: one of two Sergeants in charge of a Red Army division.
* Dugov: a junior telegraph officer.

## Places

* Machine Tractor Station Kharkov-37:
	+ Tractor garages (A, B, C)
	+ Army camp at the entrance to the station

## Quotes

JOSEPH: “What’s Kopolev been up to? If he’s sacrificing us all, I’m going to be very unhappy.”

DAN: “Show me on the doll…”
JOSEPH: “‘Show me on the doll.’ That’s a whole other Cthulhu episode, isn’t it?”

TRIEPINOV (DAN): “It’s radiation! I know it’s radiation.”
BEO (JOSEPH): “That’s science fiction.”
TRIEPINOV: “I tell you it’s radiation. I tell you once, I tell you again. Radiation!”

BEO (JOSEPH): “We are officers of the Red Army and the Lieutenant has asked you a direct question, Major.”
KOPOLEV (DOM): “I don’t answer to the Red Army, Doctor Liubimova. I answer to the Telegraph Union.”
FYODOROV (DANANN): “In which case, I do not recognize your authority over me, or any of my men.”
KOPOLEV: “You have no authority here, Lieutenant Fyodorov!”

## Trivia

* Dom’s switch in delivery on the line “You have no authority here, Lieutenant Fyodorov” is a reference to the movie adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, in which King Theoden tells Gandalf, “You have no power here, Gandalf the Grey.”