Machine Tractor Station Kharkov-37 05: ‘Some Things Are Best Forgotten’

*”In which cards are shown, threats are made, shots are fired, and various other methods of communication are deployed, as the rival factions continue their tactical dance…”*

## Some Things Are Best Forgotten

### Players

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

### Keeper

Dan Wheeler

After a close call, the four men come to an uneasy truce. Together, they explore the last building and discover more technical evidence of what has been happening at the tractor station.

## Synopsis (Spoiler Warning)

### Intro

This episode is introduced initially with quotes from the cliffhanger end of the previous episode, then with additional clips from the current one. There is no investigative board scene as it segues straight into the action.

### Scene 1: Red on Red

Kopolev and Triepinov have just grabbed Beo to take “a little walk” while Fyodorov leaves to talk to the troops. He confides in the two sergeants that he does not trust the telegraph agents and wants to leave as soon as possible, especially with the troop’s low morale. Kovalevskii notes that some of the men feel unwell and that the late hour suggests they should stay for the night and leave first thing in the morning. Fyodorov is still uneasy and sets up a strong watch.

Beo is taken to a secluded spot between a truck and building; Kopolev pushes him against the wall, accusing the doctor of hiding information or perhaps working against him. Meanwhile Triepinov unlaces his boot, apparently wrapping the lace to create a garrote. (It is later revealed to be a wire, previously hidden in his shoe.)

> [Triepinov] really cares about people’s ability to communicate. So it will be a pain to him if he has to strangle you. It will hurt him, Doctor.
>
> Adm. Maj. Kopolev

Though Beo briefly pushes back, arguing that Kopolev came back from the rural electrification truck changed, Kopolev accuses Fyodorov of a hidden agenda, noting that him mentioning seeing only “liquid” in the silo was not the whole truth. Beo agrees, pointing out that Fyodorov is the commanding officer at the moment, but Kopolev starts to show his cards by implying he’s more than a simple telegraph officer. Beo tells him everything he knows and believes, sensing that it’s the best way to escape the situation, and theorizes that refugees came to the tractor station and then were killed. Kopolev counter-theorizes that the “refugees” were instead forced there. He also asks if Fyodorov is trustworthy, and Beo backs him up, vouching that both of them are not OGPU agents. However, Beo is stalling, and uses their distraction to pull his gun, firing it deliberately into the ground. This alerts Fyodorov, who tells the two sergeants that the telegraph agents are traitors to the Red Army.

As Fyodorov comes around the corner, Kopolev and Triepinov try to convince him that Beo threatened them, and he is unmoved. Beo, however, covers up the agents’ threats and offers up an alliance, although Fyodorov is initially more inclined to execute them. Beo manages to maintain peace, offering an exchange of information.

> Maybe you want to throw us in irons, Senior Lieutenant. Would that make you feel like a big boy in front of your troops?
>
> Triepinov

### Scene 2: Uneasy Truce

Kopolev finally shares his suspicions: that dissidents are hiding in the army ranks or perhaps at the tractor station, and may have something to do with the events taking place there. Fyodorov points out that the time to have investigated would have been prior to leaving. Kopolev, in this exchange of information, still treats it as a bit of an interrogation, asking Fyodorov if he has affiliation other than to the Red Army, and Fyodorov denies any other ties. He admits being disturbed by the OGPU uniform mainly for its threat to his future. Beo also denies any connection again, and redirects attention to the possibility of using Triepinov’s “exceptional skills” to survive this mission. Kopolev is able to tell that Beo deliberately changing the subject, and for his part Beo can tell that Kopolev is extremely agitated about what he found in the car, particularly regarding the uniform.

With the sun starting to set, they recognize there is one more garage still left unexamined. With a cautious accord now established, they decide to look through the equipment and whatever else they can find there. Kopolev suspects there should be paperwork somewhere. After seeing the tools, equipment, and evidence of its use, they head upstairs and find several office/living quarters. Aside from some expected personal items, they notice a different uniform and some out-of-place things that suggest this person had a secondary agenda. A calendar is showing February.

Fyodorov presses Kopolev again about his nerves, and Kopolev tells him about the journal entry on the silo, the lights, and the possible unknown that they were containing with the lighting rig. Fyodorov finally tells him about the body he saw when he looked in. Kopolev, now convinced the Red Army officers are not working for the OGPU, shares his personal theory: that the tractor station created an extreme agricultural experiment that got out of hand.

### Scene 3: Experimental Analysis

Among the items in the first office is a folder that includes a report on the agricultural experiments conducted at the tractor station as well as a locked metal box. Triepinov unlocks it; inside are a couple hundred passports, possibly from the people staying here. In the second office, they find a microscope and several textbooks, which Beo picks up. In one specific one, there are notes and corrections written inside, which he decides to take to study that night. In the third room, they see the point of origin of the deliberately started fire: a makeshift laboratory. Beo spots and picks up some reports from a wastebin, which talk of experimentations and testing on animal bodies with tissue damage but no sign of infection or parasitic activity, despite listlessness and other symptoms prior to death.

With the sun having set, the four men make their way back to the camp and find their tents, where they have documents and other work to do prior to sleeping. Kopolev tells Triepinov about his previous experience with parasites that made “dead animals come back to life,” a near-fatal experience according to the Major.

## Important NPCs

* Kovalevskii: One of two sergeants in charge of a Red Army division.
* Blochinstev: The other sergeant in charge of a division.

## Places

* Machine Tractor Station Kharkov-37
	+ Garage ‘B’

## Quotes

JOSEPH: “It’s all gone red-on-red. That’s what they wanted from us, guys.”

KOPOLEV (DOM): “He’s not going to strangle you to death. No, he’s going to strangle you over and over again until you tell us what we want to know.”

DANANN: “He’s got 100 on every stat.”
DAN: “I mean, I wouldn’t mess with Triepinov, I’ll be honest with you.”
DOM: “Even Kopolev’s a little scared of Triepinov.”

KOPOLEV: “The Telegraph Union has a lot of power, it turns out.”

FYODOROV (DANANN): “After you.”
KOPOLEV: “No, after you.”
FYODOROV: “No, after you.”
KOPOLEV: “After the doctor.”
BEO (JOSEPH): “I’ll go first.”

DAN: [*in an over-the-top ‘Russian’ accent*] “Can I do a Cthulhu Mythos roll?”
DOM: [*imitating Dan*] “Can I do a Cthulhu Mythos roll?”
DANANN: “I’d like a latte and a Cthulhu Mythos Roll, please.”

## Trivia

* Though resolved before it could affect events, Danann notes that he thought Kopolev might be trying to wake up whatever was in the silo rather than trying to contain it.
* Kopolev’s reaction to the mention of parasites and his later confession to Triepinov indicate his character’s background experience (possibly Mythos-related) that feed into his paranoia.