Krest

Krest (Russian: Крест) is a character in Metro Exodus.

Overview
Krest is an engineer or mechanic with an adventurous life and a checkered past.

Before the war, Krest lived in the small town of Kaduy. When the bombs dropped, Kaduy was mostly spared. However, he knew of the impending nuclear winter. Acting quickly, he decided to repair an old truck and move south. After surviving a few winters alone, Krest felt that it was impossible to survive alone, and banded up with a variety of different characters and groups. Krest traveled as far as Astrakhan at some point, where the winters fared much better than those of Kaduy. However, bandits in the area have been capturing and selling people running from the winter and sending them farther south as slaves. Krest had a brief encounter with them, but escaped. Eventually, he found the Aurora's railcar and began trading supplies. He even masqueraded as a bandit to not stand out. Eventually, he gave up the false persona and decided to move east, where he was eventually stopped by Silantius and the Fanatics.

Krest arrived to the Volga river a few years prior to the Aurora's arrival. Unfortunately, due to his affinity for technology, he quickly found himself persecuted by the Fanatics. The cult took away his railcar and forced him into hiding. Krest set up several outposts where he could take shelter and quickly move on should the cult find him. He also developed a friendship with Katya and Nastya, who were being held captive by the cult. Eventually, he set up his base on top of a large crane, where he was safe from Fanatics and mutants alike.

When the Aurora arrived, rescuing Katya and her daughter, they speak about Krest with Colonel Miller. As the train engine had been damaged after running over a cultist barricade, Miller decided to recruit the engineer. He sent Artyom, who, after fighting his way through the humanimals at the docks, arrived at the crane and met Krest. Krest accepted his offer, traveling alone to the Aurora, enlisting with the crew, and becoming one of them.

Trivia

 * Крест is the Russian word for "cross" (both the geometrical and religious, figure).
 * When not wearing his jacket, such as in "The Caspian", it can be seen that Krest carries two Makarov pistols, although he is never seen using them in combat.
 * In the Russian version of the game Krest speaks with a heavy, almost stereotypical, North Russian accent, which makes sense since he is originally from the northern parts of the country. This trait is lacking in the English dub where his accent is less apparent.
 * Krest's voice actor in the English language version, Mark Ivanir, also voiced Pavel Morozov.