Alyx, myself and a Vortigaunt named Zabad flew the helicopter towards the Arctic. I had bad memories of choppers, having nearly been killed by one before reaching Black Mesa East and then fighting countless Gunships. Seeing the earth from above, though, shook me far more.

It was dead. Where was life? Outside White Forest so little remained that seemed like the earth I had known. At Innsbruck I explored the countries of Europe. They were beautiful. There had been thousands of woods, rivers, meadows, castles, universities, towns. Now there was gray voidness. The cities we saw were ruins, the castles were heaps of stone. The forests were burned, the streams were dry. It was all taken; lost from our race forever. I felt a rage grow against the Combine. Had it really fallen to me to annihilate them and avenge our world?

Alyx was flying the chopper. She was still grieving, so I did not want to speak to her too much. The coordinates showed that the Borealis was outside what had been Norway. As we flew closer, we saw below us several Striders. Their undead, skeletal bodies walked beside the Arctic coast. Most of the water had been drained, yet there were mounds and boulders of ice beside the rocky land. Was the Borealis hidden here? Had it been captured already, and its power under the Combine's fist?

The Vortigaunt Zabad wanted to attack the Striders. "The portal the Magnusson gave us. On this vehicle. We take the Magnusson's devices and destroy the Combine. The Free Man can attach them and the Alyx Vance can shoot."

"No, Zabad" Alyx replied. "We can't risk being spotted. There may be dozens of Combine troops in the area. I won't let what happened to my dad happen to us".

"That's right, Alyx." I supported her caution. "Striders here means Advisers. And Overwatch patrols. It's not going to be safe for us."

"The Free Man is a fighter", said Zabad. "It is the Alyx Vance who fears. The Free Man has the courage of our greatest warrior. He must conjure it".

"I like a good fight, Zabad." Alyx had her old self in there. "But the trigger-happy rebels are first to the battle and first to the funeral."

We avoided the sight of the Striders and reached the location that matched the coordinates we had been given. The Borealis was supposed to be here, but we saw nothing. The sea had been drained, and the ground looked as if it had been farmed into an arid and sterile wilderness. So we travelled north, to where the earth was still frozen and ice-filled. Maybe the ship was trapped under the snow; safe against the Combine's search parties.

We continued into the Arctic when Judith appeared on the cockpit videoscreen. "We have reached the Project and are happy to wait for your arrival. You are close to us, travel in a north-easterly direction and you should see a snowmound that is larger than the others. The ship is inside here, we have cleared enough of the top for you to land."

After another hour's flying - in which there was only clear, white and sun-reflecting snow - we saw at last the deck of the Borealis. The chopper came down at the front of the ship, and as we climbed out Judith greeted us. "Alyx! Gordon! Wonderful to see you both after those adventures in the Citadel, huh? Hehehe."

"I am glad you made it here as well, Dr. Mossman." Alyx always did her best to avoid a public with anyone, but I was sure she would never consider Judith a friend. "What's in this ship? We've braved the freezing weather it sure as hell better be worth it."

"It's incredible." I could recognize a scientist by their excitement. If they were genuine, they loved discovery. To find something new, to learn what had never been found before - this kept any real scientist alive. "Their portal technology is decades ahead of ours or the Combine's. They have developed a teleportation mapping device. It can take images and create maps of any location in any universe. With this we will be able to map where all Combine forces are stationed on earth. We can map Xen, map the Combine Overworld. This will give our troops huge advantage."

"How does it work, Dr. Mossman?" I was a scientist to my core. I loved discovery, and I loved understanding all its components.

"The destination portals attract light rays which are then transmitted to the source portals. These can be stored directly or combined with AI software to create maps. The portals are so small a human can't travel in them. Information-only portals."

"Anything else?", Alyx asked.

"They discovered a new dimensional world. Like Black Mesa found Xen, they have found a planet. An extraordinary one."

"Is it like earth?"

"More like Mars. It has that light red tint on its surface. But the incredible thing is, its ground contains volumes of crystals purer than the ones which were supplied to Black Mesa. Crystals of greater quality than the one which caused the Cascade. Aperture Science researched their properties, and discovered that they could generate powers equal to that of the Nihilanth."

I was shocked and exhilarated by this. That being I had faced on Xen. Its might, its electricity, its telepathy - in our hands. "The Vortigaunts were enslaved until I destroyed three crystals protecting the Nihilanth and killed him. Could the crystals give us the ability to take control of Combine forces? Free beings from their grip, or cause them all to fight each other?"

"Who knows, Gordon?" Judith replied. "We need to experiment. It will take time but if we deliver this knowledge to White Forest they can develop it. It's wonderful the science contained here. This is going to be our greatest work."

Zabad had been quiet for most of the way, but hearing of how his race was enslaved stirred him. "For many aeons we have sought this. The destruction of our rulers, the burning of our bonds forever. We battle and die that each of us may be free."

Alyx seemed the least moved. She had looked to the ground throughout our discussion, as if she couldn't participate but restrained herself from openly opposing us. "Alyx," I asked. "Are you troubled by this?"

"My father worried about exactly what we are considering. Should anyone have the power of the Combine, the Nihilanth? Desire to control others. The cause of all tyranny, right there."

"But it's us fighting back and winning." Judith's face flushed. There was a passion in her, a drive to succeed. "Just because you never respected scientific equipment doesn't mean others won't use it responsibly."

"You dare lecture me about behaving responsibly! I never betrayed my people to the Combine!"

"I only ever did what helped us. I'm a servant of science and progress, not a coddled adolescent."

"You're a reformed traitor, Judith. Just be grateful."

I loved physics because it was logical and clean, without the mess of personal conflicts. I wanted to defend Alyx, but not make anything worse. I never knew how to resolve problems between people. I was the stereotype of the antisocial nerd. This frustrated me more and more as I got older. Luckily Zabad played peacemaker. "The Alyx Vance and the Mossman argue. We who know the Vortessence feel each other's very self, and hear the thoughts of all our race. We have no hate. Be like the Free Man. Calm with all."

I was flattered that Zabad considered me calm and amicable. If I was the friendly guy of the group, if I was popular with all, I'd feel a rare sense of achievement. I wanted Alyx's friendship most, so I measured my words and tried to support her. "You're right to worry about the risk, Alyx. Any of us are corruptible. We can't foresee the consequences of using this."

"Dad had his darker moments, and in them he'd wonder whether we'd be kinder than the Combine if we had their power. Should we really chance us being as bad?"

"We can't be worse, surely? They probably rule most of the planets out there. Might as well see if we can do a better job." I wanted more than anything for Alyx to agree with me, to see me as possessing a wisdom like her father. And not have to debate with her. But I believed in the mission, and I wasn't going to abandon it for anything. As hard as it was, not even to please her.

"Ok Gordon but you better live up to your last name. I'm expecting freedom to ring across every dimension by the time we're done."