Thanks to mellombror and misswheatly for your reviews, its good to know this story is enjoyable to others.
I think the next chapter is even better than the first, but I'll let everyone here decide that for themselves
ADDENDUM (July 5th): I'll be gone for the next two months and will be unable to continue on this story. I'll try to get a next chapter out before I leave tomorrow, but don't count on it. Next update will most likely be in September.
Chapter II: Ghostly Sensation
()
Blast doors closed behind Gordon, cutting off the natural illumination of the outside world and shrouding the room in darkness. It only lasted for a handful of seconds, before bright lights snapped on, flooding Gordon's vision with white illumination. He brought his left hand away from the foregrip of his captured MP-7A sub-machine gun to help shield his eyes.
"I've got something," A distinctly female voice called.
The sound of machinery whirring to life made Gordon take his hand away from his face to get a better view of what was going on. Two metallic arms rotated out from the wall, blinking lights fixated on him, while the objects themselves tracked his pacing movement. The veteran's slightly relaxed posture vanished with this discovery, the idea of being confronted with turrets entering his mind. He shouldered his SMG, flicking off the recently engaged safety as his finger hovered on the trigger.
"Okay its human," The female spoke again, the devices moving back to their previous positions. "Hello? Take it easy in there, you're safe now."
Gordon suppressed a snort at that; safety was a temporary thing at best.
A red field snapped to life at the ceiling, a field that slowly started descending towards Gordon. An observation window slowly started open at the same time, giving the combatant a view of the control booth beyond. Two people were inside, a male still dressed in the citizen standard and a woman; the same one who had witnessed his misfortune with teleportation.
"You'll have to forgive the scanning process, we can't take any chances." The women turned away from the scan readout in the back to see who had found their way to Black Mesa East. Her expression changed to shock when she recognized the individual standing in the airlock. "Doctor Freeman? Gordon Freeman, is that you? You made it here this quickly. Eli is going to be amazed, not to mention relieved."
The One Free Man glanced at the fields as it finally made contact with his body, part of him expecting to feel pain. Noting happened however, so he turned his attention back to the speaker.
"I'm Doctor Mossman, Doctor Judith Mossman. I've been hearing about you since long before the Black Mesa incident." She paused, an audible sigh coming from her. "Oh, Black Mesa. I do so envy you working with Eli and Doctor Kliener when they were at the top of their field."
The way she said 'Black Mesa' made Gordon think there was more to her story than the simple professional envy she chalked it up to, but he only continued to pace the airlock, waiting to be released.
The scanning field dissipated once it ran through its vertical sweep, a green light flickering on a wall mounted panel soon after. "Ah, there we go," Mossman continued, the inner door opening once she gave the command. "You can come through now."
Gordon did just that, moving out of the confined space to a concrete and steel lined hallway. Overhanging lights gave off a strong illumination, one that revealed the form of Doctor Mossman once she left the airlock control booth. "I'll take you down to Eli right away. He would never forgive me if I kept you waiting."
Her last statement was finished with a small laugh, one that made Gordon lift a brow. There was nothing humorous about that statement, the fact that he knew Eli only reinforced that belief. He had the distinct impression that she was nervous. Given all the awed looks and eager people he had met on his way here, the possibility was more than likely.
Judith led the veteran towards an elevator, speaking while she walked. "We could certainly use the extra help around here. We've covered a lot of ground these last few months, but things would go so much faster if we had more people with your training."
There's that laugh again, Gordon thought as he continued regarding her blankly. He felt a suppressed combination of amusement and anger at the thought of fighting his way through hordes of Civil Protection units, just so he could participate in scientific experiments.
"We're closing in on a reliable teleportation technology. It's something the Combine still hasn't mastered." She paused to signal the base elevator. "Eli thinks their portals are string-based, similar to our Calabi-Yau model."
The former Black Mesa employee noted that such a model had only been based on what had been called the superstring theory during the days leading up to the Resonance Cascade. It grabbed his attention only because the time it must have taken to refine the theory and put it into practise would have been a long period and it gave him a better idea of just how much time had passed in his absence.
"The Combine, however," Judith continued, "Failed to factor in the dark energy equations. They can tunnel through from thier universe but once they're here, they're dependent on local transportation. If they knew what we were doing with entanglement—" She cut herself off, stepping into the elevator that arrived on its designated floor, moving toward the left side.
Gordon followed, stopping on the opposite side, not knowing what the hell she was talking about with regards to 'dark energy' or 'entanglement. Then again, he didn't care enough to ask either.
A laugh escaped the female doctor, "Listen to me, I sound like a post doc." She turned to Gordon, the smile he was quickly regarding as irritating back on her face- though as usual, it didn't show. "I'm just so excited to think we'll finally have the chance to work together."
With that said, she keyed for a descent into the depths of the resistance hideout, turning slightly towards Gordon as the elevator started to move. "Where was I?"
She stood thinking for a moment but Gordon didn't bother listening to her once she continued, settling for tuning her out. His attention was focused, instead, on the various glimpses of activity that could be seen through the passing underground sections of the complex.
The sight of two individuals playing a game of chess was the first thing the MIT graduate caught sight of. The player on the right was just one of the many citizens Gordon had encountered. But the one on the left instantly set his adrenaline flowing, his SMG moving from its position of being slung across his shoulder to in contact with his hands.
He'd almost shot the first of the lanky, bipedal aliens he'd encountered on his way to Black Mesa East. It had been in the first marker of the Resistance's underground railway, inside an abandoned railway container. After a quick explanation by the human male inside, Gordon had lowered his weapon. Apparently the aliens, referred to as Vortigaunts, had taken to siding with humanity in their struggle against the Combine.
The veteran had decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it didn't stop him from tensing everytime he came near one of the creatures, nor did it prevent him from arming himself with the closest weapon available. He breathed a sigh of relief when the alien could no longer be seen.
It didn't last long though, since the next level contained two more Vortigaunts, this time in what looked like a kitchen. Chef hats were balanced precariously on their football shaped heads, knives in their hands as they sliced headcrabs into pieces. Gordon's grip on his SMG tightened.
Soon the kitchen view passed to show two more of the aliens firing their electrical attacks into what looked like the generators that operated the base. A couple of citizens directed their movements, pointing to which generators needed a power boost. It wasn't until the section passed that Gordon realized he had taken the safety off the MP-7A.
"Ah, here's Eli now."
Gordon turned his attention away from his SMG at Judith's statement to catch sight of a much older Eli Vance conversing with a Vortigaunt. Deciding there were too many of the creatures present for Gordon to ease up as much as he thought, the veteran followed Doctor Mossman out of the elevator, making sure to have his newly slung MP-7A in an easy to reach spot.
Judith approached Doctor Vance with a smile. "Eli, look who I found in the airlock!"
The Resonance Cascade survivor turned around at the sound of his name, his face splitting into a warm smile when he caught sight of the approaching man. "Gordon Freeman!" He took a few steps closer to Gordon, "Let me get a look at you man. My god, you haven't changed one iota. How do you do it?"
The One Free Man only shrugged, he only had partial answers to the question himself. Even if he did have a complete answer to provide, however, he still wouldn't be intent on giving it.
Eli was so elated at seeing one of his old friends alive, that he didn't even seem to care whether Gordon answered or not. "Let's see, the last time I saw you, I sent you up for help after the Resonance Cascade." A slight laugh emitted from him, "I never thought it would take you this long to get back to me!"
"Neither did I," Gordon spoke quietly, his voice portraying only a hint of the sadness he felt at his situation.
Apparently he hadn't spoken softly enough, for Eli laughed at the statement, giving his friend a pat on the back as he inched him further into his own workplace. "Welcome to the lab anyway," Doctor Vance said, gesturing toward the various generators, consoles, analysis boards, and computers in the area. "It's not Black Mesa, but it has served us well enough."
"It's going to be a lot more like Black Mesa with Gordon here to help," Judith said, an unnerving smile directed at the statement's recipient.
Gordon snapped his head around to face her, unable to suppress his emotions at as his eyes burned with rage. "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean!"
Doctor Mossman's eyes widened in shock at Gordon's reaction, her hands rapidly moving in a placating intending gesture as she took a few steps back.
With Gordon in possession of a crowbar, USP Match, and MP-7A sub-machine gun he made for a highly intimidating sight, a fact only amplified by the presence of various bullet holes and blood coating his HEV suit.
"C'mon Gordon," Eli spoke as he moved close enough to place a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "You know that she didn't mean it like that. MIT graduates are rare in these times is all."
The veteran took a deep breath, burying the emotions that were threatening to unravel him and settling back into his familiar neutral look. "Sure," He said in acknowledgement to Eli, his gaze briefly switching to Judith. "Sorry."
His apology was far from sincere, but no-one bothered to comment on it.
"That's fine," Doctor Mossman spoke in a somewhat even tone, though she still looked more than a little intimidated. "I've got some work to finish up," Judith spoke as she started to backpedal out of the room, only taking her eyes off Gordon when he turned to face a speaking Eli.
"We'll get you out of that hazard suit and back into your lab-coat—"
"No."
Gordon spoke with such simple finality that it stopped Eli cold. He turned back from his workstation to face his friend. "What do you mean no?"
"If you remember what you said to me during the Resonance Cascade, you no doubt remember the remark I made to you."
Eli frowned; he did indeed remember the battered form of Gordon Freeman climbing out of a forcibly made out-of-service elevator. Gordon had walked straight toward him while he tended to an injured colleague. After he had expressed his surprise upon seeing Gordon alive, his friend had only regarded him with dimmed eyes.
"So much destruction…and death…from such a simple experiment. I don't want to be a part of this."
At the time, Eli had assumed Gordon meant that he didn't want to be the one to go to the surface to get help. Now, however, after considering how little persuasion had been needed to convince his friend to do that very task, Eli realized he should have known Gordon had been referring to something else, his choice of career path.
"Eli," Gordon spoke, making his way around the lab to find something akin to his interests. "Let me remind you I'm out of the scientific field." He gestured towards all the items in the lab, the teleporter in particular. "I don't do this sort of thing anymore."
"You can't deny what you are Gordon," The Vance patriarch spoke, his voice soft and gentle.
Blank green irises flicked toward him, "I'm not."
Eli only sighed sadly, "At least think more on this before you make a final decision Gordon."
The veteran nodded in compromise after a few seconds of hesitation. He doubted he would even need to reconsider the decision but he decided to agree, if only to make his friend feel somewhat more at ease.
A goal which seemed to have been met, for Eli smiled once more. "Good."
Gordon stopped in his trek around Eli's lab, having discovered something of interest. A cork message board was tacked next to Doctor Vance's workstation, various schematics and blueprints attached to it. What really drew his attention, however, was the newspaper clippings clustered in the middle. The veteran stared at the headlines.
Portal 'Storm' Continues.
The combatant felt a suppressed stab of confusion at that. He thought he'd put a stop to the portal's forced connection to Earth when he'd taken care of the Xen Overlord, Nihilanth.
Seven Hour War Ends in Combine Victory.
Gordon' could only stare blankly at the article, lost beyond words.
Earth Surrenders.
He didn't even bother to read more from that article, particularly since, in a way, the story was still being written.
"You look like a man who could use a few explanations," Eli said, a slight grin in place when he noticed Gordon simply staring at the board. The combatant's only response was to point at the portal storm and seven hour war articles, his look of confusion letting Eli know how far his lack of knowledge went. "Gordon," The older man started cautiously, "Don't you know…anything?"
A shake of the MIT graduate's head was the only response. He didn't particularly care for the information either, save only for what use he could put it toward his assignment of destroying the Combine. At least, that was what Gordon assumed his mission was since, as usual, his 'employer' hadn't directly conveyed anything towards him. But, since the G-man hadn't contacted Gordon again, he felt it logical to assume he was on the correct path.
Even though he knew this was his homeplanet and that the people around him were his old friends, he felt nothing with regard to the entire situation. Indulging in such emotions served no purpose, particularly since he knew he was bound to the mysterious G-man now. Once he completed his tasking here, he had no idea where he would be sent to next. And, if Gordon's theory on being forcibly placed in stasis was within the G-man's abilities- as he so believed, then he knew he could live forever.
While immortality was something most people couldn't help but dream about, the prospect was highly unnerving to Gordon. Since the final moment at Black Mesa, he knew he'd been shackled, bound, to serve the will of another for as long as he survived the tasking.
"The Seven Hour War was a direct result from the catastrophe at Black Mesa," Eli began slowly, eyes regarding the silent form of Gordon Freeman with worry. "You see, the Resonance Cascade forged a kind of dimensional rift, one that attracted the attention of the Combine. Essentially, we'd opened up the door for them, and they were all too happy to take it."
"Their attempt at entry created portals throughout Earth, forging gateways between our two universes. When they finally came, they did so in full force," Eli paused to let out a sigh, "We never really had a chance." His voice took on an angry scowl when his eyes focused on Doctor Breen's picture in the Earth Surrender article. "Even so, the fact that Wallace Breen even considered the possibility of surrendering to a faction only intent on enslavement, to betray others simply for a grab at power…" He trailed off, letting out a breath as he turned away from the board. "It's disgusting."
Gordon only nodded at the information, storing it away for later analysis, something he was sure he'd find plenty of time for later on. He continued his search of the lab, looking for anything else that warranted his attention. He found it, in the form of a framed photo of the Vance family. Eli, an infant Alyx, and Eli's Wife, Azian, were all present in the black and white photo.
Looking at Azian made the combatant wonder where she was, he would have expected her to be nearby, at the very least to have caught sight of her by now. Gordon turned to look at Eli, only to find the scientist already looking at him with sad eyes. "You remember my wife Azian, don't you?
The MIT graduate nodded, gesturing toward the area around him, a silent query as to the woman's whereabouts.
Eli only looked at the family photo, "That picture and Alyx…it was all I managed to carry out of Black Mesa."
Before Gordon could even think of a response on such a revelation, the sound of a loud thud brought his gaze snapping toward a sliding metal door, one that was situated against the wall directly beside Eli's workstation. Alyx Vance walked inside, her eyes seeming to frantically search the room. For a moment he could have sworn he heard her breathing hard, but it only seemed to last for a second so he shrugged it off.
Once she caught sight of him standing at the far right, however, her expression seemed to instantly brighten up, a wide grin stretching across her lips. "Gordon! The Vortigaunts said you were here."
The Black Mesa veteran felt himself tense at the mention of the aliens, his gaze instantly moving to the lone member of the species working in Eli's lab. It had been less than fifteen minutes since his arrival, he found it hard to believe that any type of rumour could spread that fast. Part of him felt it was the Vortigaunts themselves who were able to spread such knowledge. If that were true than the only logical candidate would be the creature standing only five metres away, since the others had been distracted at the time. If such things were true though, it begged the question of how they were able to transmit such information.
"I can't believe you made it so quickly on foot!" Alyx finished with a look of pleasant surprise.
"I believe he broke your record, honey." Eli said as he turned to look at his daughter.
"Well, he earned it." Alyx spoke, briefly looking at her father before switching her gaze back to Gordon. "I guess you proved you can handle yourself out there."
He gave her a nod in response. Proving ability, it was a concept that seemed to have died with the Combine invasion. Most of the people he had met on his way to Black Mesa East had only looked at him with awe due to tales of his exploits during the Resonance Cascade. It was good to see that at least some people weren't so blind. Gordon had learned from experience- mostly from within the scientific community- that it was best to rely solely on yourself; working with others was pointless unless their stories of success had been clearly demonstrated and proven.
"There's nothing Gordon can't handle," Eli stated confidently, his serious expression turning into a smirk as he stepped closer to Alyx, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he squeezed her into a sideways hug, "With the possible exception of you."
"Dad, please," The young Resistance woman pleaded in embarrassment.
Eli's smirk only turned into a grin as he leaned back, pointing a more than slightly accusing finger at his daughter, a noise of uncertainty escaping him.
Alyx only walked away, shaking her head slightly with a slight smile on her face as she looked at Gordon briefly. The woman moved toward a pull-down ladder which led toward, what Gordon guessed, to be a diagnostic station. She scaled the vertical access area, typing commands away on the terminal.
Eli, once he obtained Gordon's attention, waved him over to an area nestled in the far right corner of the lab. A large glass panel revealed a golden crystal within the clutches of heavy metallic arms. "I know you said you're not immersing in science, but you still might find this interesting." A simple press of a button from his old friend and a single beam emitted from the underside of the crystal, reflecting off the object in rays of varying colours.
The machine bore a striking resemblance to a miniature version of the Anti-Mass Spectrometer Gordon had worked with back at Black Mesa. The sight alone made his eyes widen and his heart thump faster in his chest as he felt himself becoming immersed in his memories.
()()()
"Gordon!" An alarmed voice screamed into the room's intercom once he pushed the crystal into the machine, "Get away from the beams!"
"We're shutting down!" Another voice called, strong, convicted tone churning to panic as the commands weren't being accepted. "At...Attempting shutdown." A longer pause followed, the sounds of blaring alarm klaxons drowned out by the unstable scanning beams resounding within the chamber like lighting as they broke through the containment field. "It's not…It's not—"
A single ray lanced out from the field in a horizontal pattern, one that impacted straight through the small viewport on the observation deck. Ear-shattering screams became the dominant sound, the discharging beam cutting through anything in its wake. Whatever statement the scientist was going to make was never heard.
No more voices sounded within test chamber C-33/a of the Anomalous Materials section of Black Mesa. Gordon tried to get those outside to open the blast door so he could escape the current part of the facility, but no-one answered his frantic banging. The physicist could only stand near the doorway as a complete catastrophe unleashed itself around him. Flashes of green light continued to bombard the room, overloading Gordon's retina. The sounds so loud they seemed to weaken his hearing as well, leaving the scientist to fear he was deaf. Without vision and with reduced hearing, Gordon found himself in a void.
The only assurance he had of not sharing the fate of his colleagues above was the muffled sound of his own heavy breathing.
()()()
"Gordon, you alright?"
The worried tone of Eli Vance brought the veteran out of the experimental catastrophe, but he didn't answer the question directly, his frantic eyes fixated on the reason for his slipping of reality and the MIT graduate quickly slammed his hand down on the activation switch, putting an end to the show.
"Don't….don't do that again," Gordon pleaded in a voice scarcely above a whisper. He felt a sense of anger at his overt display of such weakness and it only made him try harder to reacquire his neutral look.
"Take it easy Gordon," Eli spoke in a soothing manner, giving his friend a squeeze on the shoulder in a gesture of support. The Vance patriarch stayed there for a few seconds longer, only heading back to his workstation once he was sure his friend was fine.
Gordon jerked his arm away from the console once he realized his hand was still resting on it, unable to hold back a wince as he did so, the action flaring up more than a few of the pain receptors within his shoulder- courtesy of Civil Protection. The Resonance Cascade survivor's eyes travelled around the room, looking at anything but the machine beside him. His gaze eventually rested on a concerned looking Alyx, who was regarding him intently. She quickly diverted her eyes once she noticed that Gordon was looking straight at her.
The sound of an opening door was followed by the appearance of a person Gordon was already beginning to dislike, Judith Mossman. "Alyx, I thought you were on watch?"
Her disapproving tone gave the impression she felt Alyx was skimping on her duties and Gordon found his right hand tightening at the thought. He uncurled the newly formed fist as soon as he realized he'd made it, wondering why he was letting his emotions seep through so much. He'd like to attribute his lack of control to his memory slip, but knew that was just an excuse. The combatant took a moment to calm himself down, wondering why it was taking longer than usual to achieve a state that he felt should already be second nature.
"The Vortigaunts relieved me so I could come see Gordon," Alyx spoke lightly, seemingly unfazed by Mossman's unspoken insinuation. "Anyway, I should be here, working on the portal."
"I have the repairs well in hand," Mossman all but dismissed Alyx's statement. "Someone misjudged the capacity of the Combine thyristor."
There was only the briefest of pauses before Eli's daughter leapt down from where she had been, advancing on Mossman. "Are you blaming me?"
It was both a query and a warning, one which the female doctor seemed to pick up on, for she made a placating motion Gordon was all too familiar with. "No, not at all. It was a calculation error not a mechanical problem."
Judith spoke as though she felt Alyx's talents lied more in the mechanical area, something which the Resistance member picked up on. "Then maybe you should let me do the calculations next time, as well as installing it."
"Alyx really," Mossman spoke with a degree of shock. "Sometime I think you deliberately misunderstand me."
"Alyx," Eli smoothly interjected, not wanting the spat to intensify. "Why don't you take Gordon along and give him some practise with the Gravity Gun."
"Sure, C'mon Gordon," Alyx said, turning to the man in question and pointing her thumb towards a door to her right, a slight smile on her face. "Let's go have some fun."
Judith seemed to take offence at the very thought, her eyes snapping back to Alyx. "The Zero Point Energy—"
"Doctor Mossman," Gordon interrupted sharply as he strode past her, having noticed Alyx start to lose her smile. "Do us all a favour," The veteran continued once Alyx had opened the door she had indicated earlier, and was now waiting for him in the adjoining hallway, "Just shut up."
The door closed, leaving behind a shocked looking Judith and disapproving Eli.
Alyx only grinned at the look on the older woman's face, unable to contain her laughter once she and Gordon started proceeding down the concrete-tiled corridor. "Nice Gordon, I'll have to try that straight-forward approach of yours once in a while."
Now back to his neutral look, he only offered the woman a nod in acknowledgement.
Alyx led him to another hallway, one which featured a darkened tunnel that instantly grabbed the attention of both parties. For Gordon, the darkened section only put his combat senses on alert; enemies had a habit of lunging out of such areas. "That's the old passage to Ravenholm," The young woman spoke with a glimmer of fear in her eyes, arms wrapped around herself as though suddenly feeling cold. She turned to Gordon, "We don't go there anymore."
Only half registering her words, the combatant flicked on his suit's built-in flashlight and proceeded down the corridor, making sure to light every section as he made his own visual confirmation that the area was secure. It wasn't until he reached an enormous metal door that he realized Alyx had followed.
"We used to go right up there to Ravenholm. It was an old mining town inhabited by some escapees from City Seventeen." She turned to look directly at Gordon, "Trust me, that tunnel is sealed for a reason."
With that said, the Resistance fighter moved out of the corridor and towards another airlock. Once Gordon was standing beside her, Alyx inputted a strong of numbers into a wall mounted panel and the outer door slid open. The pair stepped into what could aptly be described as a baby canyon, rock faces ran up vertically for a good distance but Gordon found the lack of any type of ceiling extremely exposing, it was all he could do to keep his hands off his weapons.
"So, here we are," Alyx said with a smile as she turned to face Gordon, "The scrap yard."
The veteran didn't comment, however, his gaze lingering on the top portions of the landscape.
Alyx looked at him in confusion for a moment before she strode past him to face a small storage chamber constructed into the wall beside the outer airlock door. "This was the Gravity Gun my father was talking about." She turned to look at Gordon with a smile, "Doctor Mossman came close to saying its alternate name, the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator." The smile turned into a frown after saying the name though, "But please, don't call it that."
A quick inputting of numbers in the nearby keypad and the glass tubing separating the device from the outside world was retracted. She withdrew the instrument from its slot, giving Gordon his first glimpse of the Gravity Gun. The weapon was about half as long as his crowbar, though far wider. Its curved handle in the back gave way to a handle-bar like design which allowed for greater control when using the device. A section of clear glass tubing showed off an orange glow, one that highlighted the three prongs that jutted out from the end.
After a quick run-through on how to make use of the weapon, Gordon met Alyx's robot companion, Dog. The eight-foot tall creation was a lattice work of powerful servo motors, heavily armoured plating, and scavenged Combine parts- most notably of which was his head, which had once been part of a Combine scanner.
Alyx quickly proclaimed that the two play a game of catch while she watched from the sidelines, an activity which Dog was all too happy to do. After being the one catching all of the wooden crates thrown at him, Gordon understood why. Their spectator suggested spicing up the scenario by telling Dog to get his ball, an object that turned out to be a captured Combine rollermine.
Gordon slowly raised the Gravity Gun to a ready position once Dog picked up his ball, part of him wondering how fast the object would travel in comparison to the simple crate he'd been capturing earlier. He got his answer when the device came flying toward him, its trajectory taking it just shy of the Gravity Gun's reach while it impacted into his injured shoulder.
The MIT graduate couldn't help but turn with the impact, only the slightest of hisses escaping his lips, it was a small taste of the agony he was able to largely ignore. Gordon sent the mine back to Dog, noticing that Alyx looked close to standing up as her gaze rested on him. He cursed himself for being so overt with his weakness, the impact itself could barely be felt with the HEV suit plating but it had made enough of an impression to disturb his recent wounds.
When the robot companion made another throw this time, however, Gordon was more than ready. He quickly lined up the Gravity Gun, waiting until the last possible second before letting the former Combine instrument snap securely into the device's hold.
"Good catch!" Alyx called with a wide smile.
It was a gesture Gordon found himself reciprocating, if only to a small degree. His gaze wandered away from Alyx and to the makeshift basketball hoop closeby. He looked at it for a moment, then fired the mine at the hoop. The small purple light brightened for just a moment as the improvised ball went through the hoop.
"Very impressive Gordon!"
The veteran's smile widened at the woman's words, holding for just the briefest of seconds before he realized what he was doing and hastily looked away, only moving his gaze back to Dog once his neutral look was back in place.
Alyx frowned while she studied Gordon's expression. His features had suddenly changed from a completely happy look to the same blank one he had worn during their first encounter. It left her wondering why he didn't show such emotion more often. Even though Alyx had caught that brief glimpse herself, it seemed more like a ghostly sensation, one that was there one minute and gone the next.
"Just what hell does that mean?" How many others either thought or said that very same thing in response to Judith's statement the first time playing through Black Mesa East?
There you have a given reason to what I think Gordon would be feeling with regards to his...well, ensentially enslavement, to the G-man.
I know its definiely implied that Gordon is a strong-willed person, having the ability to tackle just about whatever obstacle is thrown at him. Even so, I can't help but feel that there should be at least some side-effects to his experiences at Black Mesa. I decided to give him one such scar, a minor dose of post-traumatic stress disorder (or whatever the hell it's called these days).
It would make for a realsitic scenario, really. I, myself, know someone who has that very same illness. Since he was a soldier (he's since retired due to his affliction), he received training to help him prepare for the type of unfortuante situations genrally encountered on the battlefield. Of course the reality of it still slaps you in the face.
So for Gordon Freeman, a scientist with no prior wepaons handling experience or training of any kind, to be thrust into a situation where his friends and colleagues are dying before his eyes would tend to leave a scar.
Then again, I suppose it could be argued that the G-man could have erased any such presence, since it would hinder Gordon's use to him.