Chapter 1

A New Mission

Corporal Adrian Shepherd of the 23rd Marine division was one of the few who had survived the Black Mesa Incident. He had fought tooth and nail against every alien and black ops agent they could throw at him. He had defeated a 25 foot tall alien squid monster. And, as he reflected, he might as well not have. Thinking back, he could still remember the man with the briefcase's last words….. My….. Employers have decided to; if not anything else, preserve you for the time being. You will be kept in a place where you can do no harm and no harm can come to you.

That had been the last time he had seen the man. Who he was and who his employers were…. It did not bear thinking about. After that, the osprey he was in had simply taken him far out into the desert to a massive house. There, he had everything he wanted; good food, soft beds, TV and internet. But every time he got it into his head that he would leave, something seemed to hold him back. Still, he wouldn't be one to complain. Life was good for now. But he had a sinking feeling that this current peace was not to last. He was right. As he was eating his breakfast a few days after his arrival (the food and drinks never seemed to disappear) the news was reporting sightings of strange creatures all across the world. Within the week, the combine had arrived and had conquered the planet. Adrian had tried to leave then, but, as always, he was unable to.

Then, one day some weeks later, he found a letter on the kitchen table. The letter was short and to the point. Corporal Shepherd. My employers have found a use for you. Be prepared to leave tomorrow morning. I am not offering you a choice. You will come or there will be… rather dire consequences. As he finished reading the last words, Adrian felt a surge of excitement. At last, he would be able to leave. But where would he be going? Adrian tried to blot that out of his mind. Wherever he was going, he knew that it wasn't going to be pretty.The thought that the combine now ruled most of the earth filled him with dread. The next morning, he came downstairs to find his combat gear and weapons at the table. There was a note. We leave at 0900 hours. Be ready.

At 9:00 precisely, Adrian walked out into the yard. An Osprey was waiting in the yard. As he climbed aboard, he was amazed to find two other people on board as well. He immediately recognized both of them. There was Jack, an engineer from his platoon and Lydia, a black ops agent who he had spared in black mesa. "Adrian!" said Jack with obvious surprise and joy. "You made it out! Frankly, I'm amazed!" Lydia also looked surprised. "Ah, corporal. We meet again." She said. "Jack, Lydia!" exclaimed Adrian. "It's good to see you. I'm happy you managed to make it out." Jack smiled. "Yeah, well they would have had to send ten times as many aliens if they wanted me to give up."

Jack then cast a suspicious glance at Lydia. "So, why do you know a black ops agent?" Adrian looked at Lydia. "She was the only black ops agent I didn't kill." He said. "She told me where the exit was and then asked me to knock her out." Jack stared at Adrian. "What, you spared her? She could have killed you easily!" "I didn't have any bullets left, for your information." Lydia retorted. "Besides, I just saw half a dozen of my fellow agents get mown down by one man. Do you really think I would have tried to kill him when 6 highly trained agents as well as dozens of others couldn't?" Jack shrugged.

Suddenly, a bright green flash emanated from the door to the cockpit. As their vision cleared, they saw the man with the briefcase standing in their midst. "I see you are all…. Ac-c-counted for." He said in his halting voice. "No sense in wasting time. You have a new mission…"