Well, since three of the five people who voted decided on this story, I figured that I'd write this one first. Most of the chapters will be longer, so updates will not be as frequent as they were for A Means of an End. But, I'm betting that you'll think that they're a hell of a lot better.
Each chapter of this story will be a one day of the revolution that Gordon and Alyx missed. The story will mainly be focused around Barney and what I think his leadership would be like.
Day One
"Where are they doc?" Barney asked as he anxiously stared at the teleporter platform, waiting any moment for Gordon and Alyx to appear.
"I don't know. According to my calculations, the teleporter should have already activated on their end." Doctor Kliener turned away from the console overlooking the teleporter and said, "It's quite possible that the Combine made a push for them."
"No doubt that they did." Barney said as he looked up at Kliener. "But unless they had an entire battalion of troops, I can tell you that Gordon and Alyx would have made it out." Barney stroked his chin in thought before saying, "I'll bet they were sent somewhere else by mistake, teleporters being what they are."
"Yes that would be a logical explanation." Doctor Kliener said slowly, his mind considering the possibilities.
The two made their way out of Doctor Kliener's teleport room and toward the entrance to the doc's lab. Barney was about to say goodbye to Kliener when a message could be heard on the COM system over by the cluster of security monitors.
"…….Sierra Base calling Alpha, please respond. I repeat, this is Fred at Sierra Base calling Alpha."
Barney quickly moved over to the monitors and changed the frequency on the COM system to match the central screen. An image of a rebel soldier in his early thirties filled the screen. "This is Barney, go ahead."
"You won't believe this Barney but all of our rebel stations are being swarmed with citizen volunteers! Apparently, Nova Prospekt has been wiped off the map, and people figure that now's the time to take it to the Combine."
Good work Gordon, Barney thought with a smile. Looking at Fred he said, "That must be the best news I've heard in a while. Alright, send word out to every rebel station. Break out the weapons caches and arm as many people as we can. We'll make a push for the heart of the Combine centre." Barney looked at a map of the city before he said, "Alright, get every base in your sector to get ready to push down from the North. Then relay orders to Echo, Lima, and Zulu; tell them to do the same for their area and head toward the Citadel. We'll start the assault in one hour."
Fred's pupils dilated at Barney's orders, "You want to make a push for the citadel, are you crazy!"
"No." Barney said with a smile before explaining, "We'll advance on the Combine like a web. If we get enough people pushing toward the citadel from every direction, they'll be overwhelmed. We'll push them back into the citadel and keep them contained there."
"Alright, we'll send people out in groups of a minimum of three squads. Sound good?" Fred asked as he loaded a clip into his SMG.
"Perfect, good luck."
"Same to you." Fred responded before cutting the channel
"Alright Doc, I'll need you to stay here." Barney said, turning away from the screen and picking up a Pulse Rifle. "We can use this area for a re-supply point, and it would help if you could arm any citizens who come along."
"I'll be on the look-out. There is a cache around here that I can use to supply any wanderers."
"Alright, thanks doc." Barney said, moving forward to shake Kliener's hand. Barney quickly moved toward the keypad, punched in the correct numbers, and ran out of Kliener's Lab to the apartment complex above.
Taking the lift to the top of a building, Barney moved onto the rooftops. He slowly walked around the edges of the brick buildings, wary of the large drop below. Barney looked down at the dirty streets to see that Civil Protection forces were growing increasingly more active. Barricades were being placed in the streets, APCs were patrolling the roads, and the CPs themselves were running to locations, their comlinks rattling off information.
They know. Barney thought with a grim feeling as he continued to watch the police forces move, but how. He pushed the thought aside as he stood up and continued moving toward Station Echo. If the assault was going to be a success than he would have to hurry, there wasn't much time.
With that thought in mind Barney redoubled his pace, from a spectator's view his boots didn't seem to be anything but a blur as he ran atop the rooftops of crumbling architecture.
It took nearly thirty minutes of scrambling over rooftops, getting into apartments, and avoiding CPs before Barney finally arrived at Echo Station. The resistance had converted several apartment buildings into temporary safe-houses in City 17. They were usually stock-piled with munitions, maps, and equipment that had yet to be smuggled else-where.
As Barney looked around the relatively large apartment room, he could see that this place was no different. The adjoining rooms of the building had been converted into living quarters for the rebels. Couches and mattresses were used as temporary barrack accommodations, though they were far from comfortable. But in all the times that Barney had been here, he had never seen the place so full.
Citizens filled every square centimetre of space, the experienced resistance members were scrambling to find weapons caches. They opened the tops of large boxes and handed out weapons and ammo to every person. Citizens lined up as semi-automatic machine guns, pistols, shotguns, and Pulse Rifles were handed down the line. The weapons were passed back quickly while a few resistance members gave operating instructions to those who needed it.
Barney looked out at the scene in awe; he hadn't really realized how long he had been waiting for this day. Barney could see a command room up ahead so he slowly made his way toward the area. As he got closer, he could see a few rebels going through maps and discussing different tactics. "John!" Barney shouted when he saw Echo's commander, "How's it goin'?"
John turned away from the COM system with a smile and said, "Great! Every other hide-out in the area is distributing weapons and medkits to the volunteers. We'll be ready to head out in ten minutes."
Barney thought of the CPs and asked, "Is Diego still undercover?"
John thought for a minute, his eyes scanning back and forth as if he were searching his brain for an answer. "Yeah, I think he still is."
Barney nodded, "Patch me through to him."
John changed the frequency of the radio, and whispered "Diego, this is Resistance Station Echo, come in."
"I'm here." A hushed voice responded with the coldness associated with the voice modifications of Metro-Cop helmets.
"Diego, this is Barney. Do the CPs know about our plans?"
"I don't think so." Diego responded slowly, as if in thought. "But we've all been alerted to prepare for rebel incursions. I think they plan on an attack, but they're definitely not anticipating the scale." Diego cut himself short and said, "Listen I gotta go, I'll meet up with the nearest squad I find, out." There was a click as the transmission ended.
"Get everyone ready John." Barney said as he primed his Pulse Rifle.
"Right." John said before turning to face the other rebels in room. "Mendez, I want those citizens armed right now! We're moving out!"
Mendez nodded before getting into the apartment corridor and shouting, "Get these people armed. Move, move, move!"
The additional motivation from Mendez allowed the weapon distributors to arm everyone in just under two minutes. Barney and John moved out into the hallway when everyone reported ready. The citizen militia were now armed with everything from pistols to AR 2s. They stood in double-file formation, waiting for their orders.
Barney and John moved to the end of the hallway, with everyone's eyes facing them. Barney looked at them as he spoke, "For too long we've been cast aside, forced to endure painful lives. And it's not just the Combine, or Breen, I'm talking about. I mean the CPs! Those fools, who spread a disease called 'security!'" Barney's words had the desired effect, anger flashed in the citizen's eyes as they remembered the pain that the Metro-Cops had forced onto them.
Barney loaded his rifle as he continued, "The best way to rid ourselves of these criminals and traitors, is a bullet!" Barney shouted out his statement as he pulled out his pistol. "That's the best way to cure ourselves of these idiots!"
The Citizens cheered, loaded their weapons, and ran out of the apartment as Barney shouted, "Three squads to a group! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Twenty five citizens followed Barney as he headed in one direction. He turned to the citizens and shouted, "Weapons hot, we're going in."
His citizen followers checked their rifles as they stormed through the alleyways and the other winding passages of the city. Traditional squad tactics were replaced with all out assault. The citizens emerged near, what Barney guessed, to be a CP resupply depot.
Armed Metro-Cops ran with weapons as they set themselves up for an engagement. Small barricades were placed to allow Civil Protection units to take cover when under fire. A burst of pulse fire cut Barney's observations short, the rest of his group tucked behind abandoned cars as a CP fired at them from above with a mounted turret.
"Damn!" Barney hissed as the glass above his prone form was riddled with pulse capsules. He looked at the rest of his group and shouted, "I'll take out the turret. Once I've got it secured, advance on the CP depot. I'll cover you from above."
The citizens nodded in acknowledgement as Barney crawled to the base of the building where the turret was keeping its steady rate of fire. A locked door was the only means of an entrance, but Barney quickly removed that obstacle by kicking the door down. Inside, the building's only main features were two rooms and a staircase. Barney quickly took out his Pulse Rifle and slowly advanced up the tightly turning stairway to his target.
Barney approached the door on the top level. Every step he took brought him closer to the hammering sound of a turret on full auto. It didn't take many more steps for him to see a CP operating a mounted Pulse Rifle, belts of pulse capsule rounds were being fed into the gun as it kept up its high rate of fire.
Acting fast, Barney kicked the door in the rest of the way as he charged the Metro-Cop. The traitor had little time to do anything more than turn his helmeted head in surprise before Barney brought the butt of his AR 2 crashing down on the cop's face. While the CP grunted and writhed in pain, Barney quickly shouldered his rifle and fired a burst into the incapacitated CP, ending his life.
Barney slung his AR 2 over his shoulder while he disengaged the Combine turret from the railings of the balcony. As soon as the gun's magnetic locks disengaged from the railing Barney shouted down at the citizens, "Its all clear. Move it up!"
The militia gave a shout of approval as they crouched behind the cars and fired at any CP units they could see. Bullets and pulse capsules tore into the unsuspecting CPs, radio chatter became frantic as the cops tried to figure out where the enemy was shooting them from.
As soon as the magnetic-lock on the Combine turret engaged on the opposite side of the balcony railing, Barney let loose a volley of fire into the Combine forces. The Metro-Cops had just started to protect themselves from the firing citizens and, consequently, most of their bodies were left exposed to Barney as he unleashed a storm of fire into their midst.
An APC became Barney's priority target as Metro-Cops ran toward the vehicle to try and start it up. Good marksmanship ensured that the Combine never reached their objective. Citizen militia were advancing at this point, as the number of CPs rapidly declined.
It took the remaining hour left in the day for Barney's group to secure the Combine depot. It was quickly marked as a fallback position if things went sour. And, judging from the fact that CP units had been reporting their positions while being under fire, it wouldn't take the Combine long to figure our that a full-scale revolt was in progress.
Well, how was it?! Please make a review and let me know!