As soon as the helicopter touched the ground, the resistance fighters leapt out and Judith shut it down. They had been lucky- the weather was favourable, and they should be able to get the data and leave again without any trouble. The facility looked inactive. That was not surprising, as it hadn't been staffed for a long time. Judith had been there, of course, years ago. She'd set up a longer-term power supply as a way to monitor transmissions, somewhere the Combine were unlikely to find it. The only problem was that to stay undetected, it had to avoid sending anything out, so the data stayed on site and they had to physically go there to read it.

The facility wasn't, of course, locked. The fighters checked the place out to be certain it was clear, while Judith headed straight to the control center.

it took about half an hour to find what she needed- records from the transmission the Combine had sent to start the superportal. It took a few more minutes to figure out how to decode it. Judith grinned broadly at her success, then her grin turned to amazement as she saw something else. Another transmission... the Borealis! It was transmitting! She stared at the data in shock for a moment, before recovering. There was a lot, as well. The transmission had embedded in it all sorts of information about the Borealis. The facility had automatically compiled it, and it was just sitting there.
Judith scrolled through it. Schematics of both the ship and the technology, supplementary data... it looked like they'd just included all their data with it. All of it, right there, waiting for them!
The transmission was strong, really strong. It couldn't be far away- in fact, the original site where it was supposed to materialise would fit. She had to pursue this. If the Combine got a hold of it, that would be a problem for their own work. Their portal technology was based partially on Aperture portals, so the Combine, if they got a hold of it, could use that against them. It was incredible that it was there after all. They'd searched the Arctic before, hoping the transmitter was just damaged in some way, but it seemed like the Borealis had never rematerialised. Perhaps Eli had been right, and the Borealis had travelled in time somehow as well...

Judith took a mental step back. She needed to send the portal code- that was the main objective for the moment. She could worry about the Borealis afterward. She focused on using the transmitter to send the code back to White Forest. While she was at it, she'd have to tell Eli what she'd found and embed the data as well. The Combine would receive it, no doubt, but she encrypted it. They might still break through the encryption, but she was nothing if not sneaky. She would hide the transmission in the portal code, and then within that, hide that data in a secondary layer. They'd find the transmission and think that was all there was to find, but Eli knew here better than that. He'd find it, no problem.

There was a camera and microphone there, so Judith held the camera and set the transmission to send as she recorded. She also ensured it was simultaneously broadcasting the portal code.
"I'm fairly sure I've pinned down the location of the Project. It's hard to say how much of it might have survived intact, or whether there's anything remaining that could compromise our work... if it were discovered by the Combine. We'll need to take a close look at it, of course, but I should be able to give a better opinion within a few hours. If the site is where we think it is, then it should be no more than..."
An explosion rocked the facility. Damn, Judith thought. She'd hoped for more time.
"I'm going to cut this short. We may have been spotted."
She heard a noise- a breaching charge! She backed away from the console and ran. As she did, there was the thump of the charge detonating, and the resistance fighters, which had come back, opened fire. Judith just ran back to the helicopter. She had to get to the Borealis.

As she got in the helicopter, a thought occurred- that if they had known they were there, the Citadel might have blocked the transmission. They might be the only ones to receive it. But she had no choice but to continue, and hope they got the portal code.

Eli Vance's funeral was hastily organised in the midst of an evacuation. Now that the superportal had been neutralized, White Forest had become more of a liability than an asset, so they were going to move out. Dr. Arne Magnusson had made his opinion clear- that he would prefer to spend the time organising the evacuation and they could have it later. But Alyx had been insistent that they have it before they left, and Magnusson hadn't pushed too hard.

Gordon watched stoically as the funeral started. Alex and Isaac Kleiner both said some words. Alyx had asked if Gordon wanted to say anything, but he just shook his head. He was a quiet person in general, and he had only known Eli a long time ago. Or, at least, it had been from their perspective. D0g was there, as well, sat down, waiting. Gordon suspected he didn't really understand what was going on.

It was over quickly, and then it was time to leave.
Dr. Kleiner said to Alyx, "I wish you didn't have to go right now. It's a terrible time. But..."
Alyx continued, knowing what he'd say, "The Borealis can't wait. I know. We can mourn later, and Dad wouldn't want me to let my feelings come before the fate of the species."
Kleiner gave a small smile. "Quite."
He looked to Gordon. "At least I can be sure you'll be in capable hands. Gordon, you have done so much for us. When you return, we'll have a proper hero's welcome for you. For both of you."
Magnusson was gruff as ever. "Yes, I'm sure we'll all be grateful to them. But we have an evacuation to get on with!"
Kleiner shot him a look of irritation. "We can spare a moment, Magnusson."
He shook his head and said to the departing duo, "We can hope the Combine haven't gotten to the Borealis before you do. You'll have to be careful. If they have, you'll need to come back immediately so we can plan our next move. Well, to the new base, anyway."
"We will," Alyx promised. "We should head out. Good luck with the evacuation."
Kleiner smiled and replied, "Good luck to you too, my dear. To both of you."
He headed inside and Magnusson said to them, "Yes. Good luck. See you at the new base."
D0g escorted them to the helicopter. When they got there, Alyx said her goodbyes to him. He was clearly sad to see her go, but soon they were off, with Alyx flying the aircraft out of the hangar while a resistance fighter operated the door.
When they were fully underway, Alyx said to Gordon, "The Combine are going to pay for this. All of it. The damage they've done to us... we'll return it, tenfold."
There was a steely look in her eyes. Gordon agreed with her, but he felt a profound sadness at the hatred she felt. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she covered it with her free hand, acknowledging the sentiment. Then the moment was over, and they settled in for a long flight.