"ETA to dropzone t-minus 10 minutes."
The pod swayed back, forth and side to side as the dropship maneuvered it's own path through the mountainous terrain. It's cargo pod was held tightly like a child would have with a teddy bear. The pod's own sentry gun scanned the area for any hostile targets. Confident of it's own safety the gun remained silent.
Inside the pod six armoured individuals were seated on either side opposite one another. Five of them belonged to the standard forces of the Sector Seventeen Overwatch, one of the many divisions of the Combine military on Earth. Decked in blue and grey patterned uniforms they were joined by the last soldier garbed in dark red with glowing orange eyes. The menacing skull emblem on his left arm denoted him as a member of the Overwatch Elite.
"Begin mission preparation." the same mechanised voice sounded.
Exchanging quick nods with each other the five standard soldiers reached up above their heads for their helmet masks. The dropship pod could be sealed at any time, and being one of the few moments of inactivity this allowed soldiers to remove their masks briefly alongside their armour. Whilst soldiers could breath without their masks, they could not do so for too long in an exposed environment.
The soldier on the left side at the back looked at his comrades before meeting his eyes with the Elite's goggles.
"StanOp procedures?" he asked, standing for Standard Operation. His voice sounded less mechanical thanks to the absence of his mask, yet still carried a cold and metallic overtone to it.
The Elite soldier shook his head, "Negative 26. Collaboration with five other deployment teams. Vance Sub-Prime believed to be present. Sweep, confirm, cauterize. Non-citizens and enemy collaborators present. No prisoners."
26 gave a short nod of understanding before placing the large mask over his own head. With a resounding 'snap!' the helmet clips locked themselves into place. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the sudden yet familiar change, meanwhile pieces of digital information flickered across his vision.
MEDICAL STATUS: EXCEPTIONAL
WEAPON STATUS: UNKNOWN: WIELD STERILIZER APPARATUS
POWER STATUS: ACCEPTABLE
APPETITION STATUS: BELOW ACCEPTABLE: RESUPPLY
The large announcements disappeared as quickly as they came, replaced with shortened, smaller versions of themselves in the bottom corners of his vision. Loading a small clip into an MP7, 26 checked his ammo stats again, this time reading "WPN ST: 45".
"ETA to dropzone t-minus 5 minutes" the Elite reported. The squad already knew of their objectives and had served many times together before. Unlike pre-war squads though, there was no chatter of any kind but an eerie observant silence instead. Nothing exclusive to this one squad however. Many members of the Transhuman forces behaved in the same way, an effect of their training.
26 was one of the few exceptions. He'd never question his orders or speak in a way that would clash with his superiors, he'd just comment in regards to a mission or simply ask about what he already knew.
He gave a small sigh "Hope this mission is short, could do with supplement." The Elite stood up and grasped the metal support beam above his head, wielding his shotgun in the other.
"Prepare for visual download of Vance Sub-Prime."
26 nodded in unison with the others and stood as well. In seconds the image of a young woman in her early twenties flashed within his mind thanks to the augmentations soldiers received. It felt as though he had seen her in person before, if asked he could easily describe her. Asian American female, early twenties, African American heritage donning a torn leather jacket over a hooded jumper and slight worn casual jeans.
"Ready weapons and prep for con-"
The pod rocked violently as something impacted itself into it.
The dropship began it's rocky descent towards a small wooden settlement surrounded by a thick forest and only accessible from a little dirt path. Unbeknownst to the pod's occupants a number of resistance members amassed and lay in wait.
"I hear one of them now!" a young rebel cried, eagerly shouldering an RPG.
"Easy!" called another, an older man in his forties. "Wait until they get a little closer, we need them in range."
Several bodies made their way to various points around the decrepit building and took up their positions.
"Yeah, come closer you sons of bitches" the first rebel muttered. The noise of the dropship grew louder and louder as it made it's way closer to them. One of the rebels, a woman dressed in pre-war clothing tore across from the building to the small wall surrounding it and slid next to the older man.
"What are you still doing here?" he inquired gruffly, equipping a pair of binoculars. Cautiously he peered over the wall towards the horizon above the trees and grimaced.
"They'll be here any minute Miss Vance, you need to get going."
"I can't leave you guys without help Pieter!" she retorted indignantly. From within her jacket she withdrew some kind of prototype handgun.
The older man shook his head. Her heart was in the right place, she held a fierce determination to help and protect her friends and under any other circumstance he'd be glad to have her along. But he knew better than that, she was a key member of the Resistance. Without her...
"You need to go now!" he turned to face her and added quietly "Alyx, your father needs you. The data you're holding is vital, and you're the only one who can get it to him."
Alyx shook her head, "I can't leave..."
He placed his hands apon her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. 'Still young yet stubborn, just like her father' he thought.
"Alyx, this whole thing will be full of hardships and tragedy I won't deny that, but you keep strong and stay determined and no matter what is thrown at you you'll make it through and those who haven't will be able to rest at last." The droning of the dropship rumbled throughout the woods and nearly drowned out his words. He dove into his pocket and handed over a small green vial.
"I know you can do this Alyx, now go!"
"But..."
"They're nearly here, go! That's an order!"
She hesitated, but then gave him a small hug. "I won't forget about you."
His frown softened and a small smile emerged, "Ditto."
Alyx gave a little smile of her own before retreating back into the building and leaving out the other side. Pieter sighed in apprehension as the sight of a dropship entered into his view. He quickly grabbed a nearby RPG.
"Get ready to fire!"
The soldiers held on for dear life while the pod shook dangerously with each hit from a rocket. The sound of the pod's automated turret returning fire filled the air and the cries of the dropship echoed in their ears.
"Outbreak outbreak outbreak!" the Elite shouted, his fingers desperately clutching the support beam above. His gun was quickly knocked out of his grip. Just as he reached it the door of the pod was suddenly wrenched off from it's hinges by a direct hit. The Elite lost his balance and fell out of the pod.
"Shit!" cried 26 dropping his gun in favour of holding his own support with both hands. Several of his comrades followed suit whilst another joined the Elite. The dropship groaned, it's strength and determination weakening with every hit, spinning out of control. A sudden jolt of electricity surged through 26's head as a power unit next to him burst with a fiery display and collapsed to the floor with a crash.
"Urgh!" he moaned and barely felt the pod falling through the air as his world faded to black.
"Are you sure this is necessary?" laughed the young man from behind a blindfold. The woman beside him giggled softly and gently squeezed his arm.
"Silly, of course it is necessary" she teased. "Otherwise I know you would sneak just a teensie weensie peek. And that would ruin the surprise."
"What surprise? You mean you got me that car I've always wanted?" he asked hopefully with a tone of humour.
"Even if I did I wouldn't tell you."
"Aw come on..." he playfully whined, realising he was entering his living room.
"A little further...ok you can look now."
Taking off the blindfold he was met with the sight of all his closest friends and relatives. He couldn't help the big smile that spread across his face.
"Happy Birthday!"
With an immediate jolt of pain throughout his body 26 woke from his forced slumber. His stats flickered slightly as he came to, all of them dangerously low. Another stab of pain shocked his head.
He hissed through clenched teeth. "Ah fuck!" He couldn't see anything other than his own stats and felt a constant pressure on his back. Fumbling around his head he realised the back of his helmet had melted, exposing the shaven head underneath.
Disorientated and confused he lay motionless under the sheet of metal, not even bothering to look up at his surroundings.
What am I doing here? he quietly pondered and lifted up his head. What met his sight was terrifying.
A single body of an young man, around the age of 18 lay in before him, staring up at him with unforgiving dead eyes with an expression of terror set onto his face, a cry cut off with a single headshot. 26's memories of past assignments came flooding back to him. Those slain by his own hand, each and every one of them clear in his mind, their cries and pleas echoing inside his mind.
"Please no! God no!"
"Don't kill me! I'm unarm-"
"Why are you doing this? Please no!"
"Noooo!"
It terrified him, it frightened him to experience such feelings. Pain, an immense sorrow that pierced his entire being. He wanted to curl up into a ball and scream, to shut off this new yet strangely familiar feeling of free thought.
It wasn't long though before 26 regained himself and summoned the strength to remove the sheet of metal pinning him down. It toppled off with an almighty crash, reverberating throughout the surrouding forest. Blinking several times he noticed his eye pieces had been damaged so badly he couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him.
Hesitantly he reached up behind his mask, before grabbing both sides. He took a couple of deep breaths before continuing, unsure of the consequences. Finally after what felt like hours he earned the confidence to remove it.
Well this is it so far. I really hope this story is interesting enough for at least one person. I find Combine soldiers fascinating and wonder what if one developed free will again? I want to thank BlindAcquiescence, his story Behind the Mask inspired me to finally get the idea of a Combine regaining free will and the aftermath of it written down. Please review and feel free to give constructive criticism.