Part 3
1832 HOURS, MARCH 3, 2571 (MILITARY CALENDAR)\ ABOARD UNSC ORBITAL DEFENSE PLATFORM CAIRO\ HOLDING GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT ABOVE CAIRO, EQYPT\ PLANET EARTH
18 years. It's been 18 years since Master Chief has been asleep and 551 for Gordon Freeman. It was amazing. The world had definitely changed since Gordon's time. Lord Hood stared squarely into Chief's visor. Gordon stood at the head of his group of friends. He assured Drs. Kliener and Magnusson that he would find out what had happened. Lord Hood spoke to both Chief and Gordon.
"Well, Gentlemen. I think it's time we got our stories straight." He said. The two nodded. Lord Hood gestured for them to follow him. "I'll take you to a briefing room. Follow me." They all followed Lord Hood as he left the bridge and walked to an adjacent hallway to the right of the room. The third door on the left of the hallway led to a large room with a long holo-table like the one back in the bunkroom. Hood walked to the head of the table and sat down.
"Everyone take a seat and we'll get started." He said. Chief sat closest to Hood on his right side, and Gordon sat on his left. Alyx sat next to him with Chell on next to her. Adrian sat across from Alyx, next to Chief and Kliener. Magnusson sat across from Kliener and the four Vortigaunts, Lo-gen, Rezlan, Zenlo, and Uriah sat at the other end. DOG sat outside the room as he could not fit through the door. LaMarr sat with the great machine as well. LaMarr had been acting fairly docile since arriving on the Cairo; Gordon could only wonder why that was.
"Why don't we start at the beginning, the very beginning?" Hood said. "Gordon, I think you should introduce everyone." Gordon nodded and stood up, his hand still latched to Alyx's.
"All right then." Gordon began. "My name is Dr. Gordon Freeman. I am a former scientist for the company known as Black Mesa. This woman next to me is Alyx Vance, daughter of rebel leader Eli Vance from the resistance movement in City 17 of 2020. The man and woman next down the table are Corporal Adrian Shepherd of the Resistance and his wife Chell Shepherd, former project tester for Aperture Science Inc. The two older men, right there, are Drs. Isaac Kliener and Arne Magnusson, also of the resistance. The three creatures at the other head of the table are our Vortigaunt friends and allies Lo-gen, Rezlan, Uriah, and Zenlo. The giant robot in the hall is Alyx's cybernetic pet, DOG. Finally, the creature DOG holds in his arms is a de-clawed, docile headcrab that Dr. Kliener keeps and has named LaMarr." Gordon paused as if he had to.
"Do not worry Dr. Freeman." Chief said. "We will save questions for later and accept your promises of safety from these creatures." Gordon nodded.
"Well, it started with the Black Mesa incident…"
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2200 HOURS, MARCH 3, 2571 (MILITARY CALENDAR)\ NEW JACINTO CAFE, NEW JACINTO, JACINTO PLATEAU\ PLANET SERA
Marcus Fenix reveled in the peacefulness of the rubble filled building that he and Delta Squad were currently stationed in. He rarely ever was given a quiet moment anymore. The Locust Horde is a disease to his once prosperous planet. The tunnels which they call home had hallowed out the earth to a great expense, and their barbaric tendencies had destroyed the majestic beauty of his once glorious home. The only consul Marcus had anymore was the Lancer rifle he now held in his hand. The chainsaw blade delivered justice to the Locust; sweet, bloody, gory justice. Marcus looked around the room, which at some point had looked like a café but now was completely blocked from the outside except for a small exit only Delta squad knew about. They were safe for now. Dom, Cole, and Baird were resting on the floor while Marcus took his shift as lookout. Dom began to stir. He opened his eyes a bit and looked up at Marcus with a groggy expression.
"You still awake?" he said. Marcus nodded.
"I can't sleep with those things on patrol." He replied. Dom was concerned. The Locust had been multiplying again and it always seemed to have an effect on Marcus when they did.
"We'll get them someday, man." He said. "We'll get them." The room was silent as Dom tried to get back to sleep. Then Marcus did something he had never done before. He opened up.
"When I was in prison," he began. Dom looked up. "I had a cellmate. His name was Ryan, Ryan Morgan. He was locked up because of a friendly fire incident in the field. He had accidentally killed a man from his own unit in the heat of battle. He was just a private at the time, but the House of Sovereigns exercised extreme prejudice on the troops at that time and he was sent to jail with a sentence similar to mine. He was a nice kid. He never gave up hope. That's when they attacked." Marcus's head sank and he scratched the back of it. "The Locust used to burrow under the prison and attack periodically. It was never anything serious, but this time was different. A large group of Locust broke through the outer perimeter of the institution and a riot call was set. The prisoners with military training were let out for a time to defend the place. Ryan and I had become friends at that point and he and I were on the same team when the call was made. We ran out to the courtyard and began to fire with the low-grade Lancers the guards gave us." He paused.
"What happened?" Dom asked.
"After a few minutes of fire, the Locust proved to be too much for the prisoners and over powered them. The guards called us back and we obliged. However, the guards underestimated the Locust and they managed to capture a few of us when we were running back to the building. Ryan tripped and fell when we were running. I didn't notice until I was safe again. I had just assumed that he was behind me the whole time. The Locust got him. Once the survivors were back in the prison, the Locust went from military strategy to execution. They lined up their hostages and publicly executed them in the courtyard. Ryan was the second guy to get it, shotgun to the back of the head. You could only imagine look of terror on his face, the sadness in his eyes, and no doubt the feeling of abandonment that I had inadvertently given him. Since then, I have vowed to destroy the Locust. They will die by my hand, not only in memory of my father, but for Ryan, for Carmine, for Minh, and for anyone else who is killed in this war." Dom stayed silent. Marcus picked up his Lancer.
"Go to sleep Dom. I'll just clean my gun again while I wait." He said. Without a second thought, Dom went back to sleep.
--
2236 HOURS, MARCH 3, 2571 (MILITARY CALENDAR)\ ABOARD UNSC ORBITAL DEFENSE PLATFORM CAIRO\ HOLDING GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT ABOVE CAIRO, EQYPT\ PLANET EARTH
"Next thing you know, I have a pistol at my throat and the year is 2571." Gordon finished. He had detailed his story over the past few hours. He had gone over everything, not sparing any details. Everyone had their own part to tell, and they did. There was no doubt that Master Chief, Cortana, and Lord Hood knew everything there is to know about Dr. Gordon Freeman and his adventures.
"Thank you everyone." Hood said. "It is much appreciated that you took the time to tell us your tale. It is very interesting and amazing to boot."
"Thank you Lord Hood." Gordon replied. "I don't think I've ever spoken for that long before."
"I hope you don't lose your voice again Gordon." Alyx said. Gordon smiled and kissed Alyx.
"Well, now that that is over with, I will offer my comments on Gordon's tale and expand on it." Hood continued. "After you bunch disappeared, the resistance defeated the Combine and rebuilt society. City 17 was rebuilt without the Citadel, and so were many of the other cities of Earth. As you may imagine, this society evolved over the next 533 years. We had come to the point where you were a legend from the past. You were rarely spoken of, but never forgotten." Gordon nodded and showed a smile of appreciation of his legend. He still couldn't comprehend it. He thought about it, and the words 'The Legend of Gordon Freeman' seemed so alien to him. Hood continued. "Now, I do have some sad news for your Vortigaunt friends." Lo-gen, Rezlan, and Zenlo looked up at Hood.
"What is wrong?" Rezlan asked.
"What has happened to our people?" Lo-gen asked.
"Calm, my friends. Let the man speak." Zenlo added.
"Yes Prophet Zenlo." They both replied in acceptance. Uriah had stayed silent.
"Well," Hood began. "It is my sad duty to tell you that the planet of Xen was destroyed long ago. The Vortigaunts are extinct." The groups' eyes widened. 'How could the Vortigaunts be dead?' they thought. They had been so helpful to the resistance. Gordon Freeman and Prophet Zenlo were the only ones to be still and quiet when the announcement was made. Zenlo got up first.
"I know that my Vortigaunt brethren have been killed." He said. Everyone paid attention to him. "All those years ago, I returned to my Home planet. It had been ransacked and my people had been killed…by the Demon."
"Ah yes, the mysterious G-Man which has caused you all so much grief." Hood replied.
"Yes sir," Gordon interjected. "We know it sounds crazy, but it's true."
"Gordon's right." Adrian added. "We've all seen him with our own eyes. He is the Vortigaunt antichrist and an evil force to humans. He was the one who sent us here, why I can't imagine."
"Perhaps it is because of me." Chief added. Everyone but Gordon looked over at him at once.
"What are you talking about Chief?" Hood asked.
"It's because he's seen him." Gordon said. "The G-Man sent Chief and Cortana here."
"Is this true Chief?" Hood asked.
"Yes. After the rings fired, the rear half of the Dawn was severed and the front half went hurdling to Earth. Cortana and I were trapped in a strange corner of space. I put myself into Cryo-sleep and Cortana fed me information to my memory banks, which I processed instantly as soon as she let me out."
"Why did she wake you?" Alyx asked.
"It was because I sensed movement on the ship and it was human. When I woke Chief from his sleep, what we saw was a tall, lanky man with a gray pinstripe business suit, a flattop haircut, carrying a black briefcase."
"That's him!" Adrian said. "That's the G-Man!"
"The Demon lives?" Zenlo asked.
"Yes, Chief said. He offered me a way off the frigate. I accepted and he snapped his fingers. Next thing I know, I'm laying in the bunk rooms of the Cairo with Dr. Gordon Freeman standing over me."
"That is odd behavior for the Demon." Rezlan said.
"Yes, it is." Gordon said. "Why would he send us both here? Last time we saw him, we were trying to kill him."
"Well, this G-Man seems like an enigma." Hood said. "So, lets get down to the main event. I'm sorry I have to do this Chief, but I need to educate them on the war." Chief nodded and Hood began.