Black Mesa
By Patrick Williams
Based on the storyline from Half-Life, a game from Valve Software and Sierra Studios. The Half-Life franchise is the property of Sierra Studios. All rights are reserved to Sierra Studios.
Chapter 4 – "We've Got Hostiles!"
Surface Parking Facilities – Main Garage
Kill all humans.
The simple instructions repeated themselves, echoing endlessly in the Vortigaunt's mind.
Kill all humans.
The Vortigaunts were simple minded, and designed to be so. Any inclination to resist or think freely had been bred out generations ago. They were no longer able to act consciously in any way. All that remained in their minds was the ability to process signals and carry out the wishes of the Nihilanth.
Kill all humans.
The Nihilanth's army could feel no pain. That part of their brain had been subjugated to serve a single purpose. Success brought them pleasure, and failure brought them great pain. The Vortigaunts were powerless to resist their master as it guided them into battle time and time again. Without the power to think or plan for themselves, they were pawns on the chessboard laid out before them. The Nihilanth saw through their eyes and guided them as they fought.
Kill all humans.
The Nihilanth only required a small portion of its massive cerebrum to guide the actions of the thousands of alien slaves attacking the target dimension. They were a trivial matter; expendable, and not worth its full attention. As it guided the alien slaves in the back of its mind, the Nihilanth prepared the next wave of the invasion.
Kill all humans.
The Vortigaunt and its companions spotted a small group of humans in the hallway up ahead. The simple instructions suddenly made divine sense, and the Vortigaunt felt great anticipation of the pleasure it would receive when it fulfilled its mission. It eagerly rushed into combat, pouring its bodily energy at the humans. Each blast weakened the creature, but it didn't care. The pleasure it received after a kill would be worth the effort.
Suddenly, the Vortigaunt found itself on the ground, oozing yellow fluid from its chest. How this had come to pass it did not understand. The Vortigaunt looked up and saw the humans escaping. It had failed its mission.
The Vortigaunt felt true pain for the first time in its existence. With failure came punishment, and the creature writhed in the agony of its failure. It died there on the ground, as much from the pain administered by the Nihilanth as from the shotgun blast it had received in the chest.
"Come on, we need to move faster!" the security guard shouted at the scientists running behind him.
There were fifteen of them in all. The group of scientists had clawed their way out of the rubble and reached the surface. They had encountered great hardship on their journey and lost many of their companions, but they had made it to the surface; to the main parking garage. They were almost free.
The last Vortigaunt attack had been too close for comfort. The security guard had used his final shotgun shell to blow the final monster away. They wouldn't be able to defend themselves from another attack.
The parking garage was entirely devoid of activity. The scientists found a cluster of Black Mesa Security SUVs abandoned nearby, the keys still in the ignition. No one could fathom the fate of the original drivers.
They drove quickly through the parking garage, tires squealing as they rounded the corners. The exit barrier remained down, with no one manning the booth to open it for them. The security guard plowed his SUV through the gate, splintering the barrier. The SUVs raced through the surface complex towards a gap in the electrified fences that surrounded the facility. They were in the midst of a fuel storage facility, weaving in and out of the twenty foot tall cylindrical towers full of oil and other forms of fuels used by the facility.
A Bradley rounded a fuel tower and spotted the line of SUVs racing towards the main gate.
"This is Groundhog Fourteen requesting aerial assistance. Bogies spotted in the outer fuel storage facility; requesting a new set of eyes, over."
"This is Eagle Two; roger."
One of the orbiting Apaches swooped down low over the fuel storage facility. It held its weapons in check, realizing the potential disaster of loosing missiles in the field of fuel drums. It reported the progress of the SUVs through the maze of drums.
"Eagle Two here; bogies moving towards outer gate of fuel facility. Armadillos Five and Six proceed to coordinates to intercept, over."
Two Abrams had been summoned to the outer edge of the fuel towers. The tanks held back, waiting for the SUVs to clear the fuel drums before attacking. A blast within the fuel towers could trigger a dangerous chain reaction that would take them all out with it.
"Eagle Two; bogies approaching T-minus 10 seconds. Armadillos standby to fire, over."
The Abrams prepared to fire. Surely enough, ten seconds later, the lead SUV came into view, just barely clear of the fuel towers. A single blast transformed the vehicle into a smoldering wreck, effectively blocking the exit for the other SUVs. They came to an abrupt halt, the occupants jumping out and waving their arms wildly.
"Don't shoot!" they called, "We're with the science team!"
The commanders of the Abrams, looking out from the egress hatches atop the tanks, opened fire with their .50 caliber machineguns. Several pleading scientists were quickly taken down. The rest realized that the soldiers weren't going to save them after all, and took off on foot back into the fuel storage facility.
"This is Armadillo Six; bogies heading back into fuel towers. Send in the clowns."
The Bradley opened its rear hatch and the soldiers onboard quickly disembarked. They raced through the fuel towers towards the fleeing scientists. The scientists were grouping haphazardly, making them easy targets. A cluster of scientists stumbled right into their line of fire and was shredded by MP5 rounds.
"Eagle Two here; lone bogie making run towards the east side. We've got a shot and are taking it, over."
A scientist had made it to the eastern edge of the fuel storage facility and was attempting to climb the fence and escape. The Apache swooped in and opened fire with the 30mm cannon on its belly. The scientist absorbed several rounds in the chest before falling back to the ground.
The soldiers methodically killed off the remaining scientists one by one, guided by the Apache in the sky. When the last scientist lay dead, the tanks and Apache resumed their normal patrol routes. The surface once again belonged to them.
Sector D – High Security Materials Storage Area
The warehouse facility was a death trap. The entire level was rigged with trip mines and laser-activated automatic turrets. Several caches of weapons were found, containing grenades and ammunition for the turrets. None of this equipment was standard issue within Black Mesa's walls. It could mean only one thing: the military was already here.
Bennett was overjoyed. "We're home free! No aliens could get past these defenses. From here on out, our path is clear!"
Rosenberg was a voice of reason. "Easy, Walter. We still have to get through these defenses ourselves."
The hallway ahead of them was a three-dimensional maze of crisscrossing laser beams. Some would trigger explosive trip mines, and others would trigger the automatic turrets. There was no way to get through the beams without triggering something.
"Yes," Bennett agreed reluctantly, "This will prove to be quite a challenge. However, I'm sure that between our superior minds, we can calculate a way—"
Bennett was cut off as Calhoun pushed past him, a live grenade in his hand. He hurled the grenade into the center of the hallway and pulled the group behind the corner for cover.
A large explosion announced the grenade's detonation, and Calhoun peeked around the corner to see what was left. The hallway was entirely clear; the turrets and trip mines completely destroyed.
"You were saying, Doc?" Calhoun smirked.
"Yes, well," Bennett couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "Good work, Barney."
Black Mesa Central Command
"Sir, we've lost contact with several turrets in Sector D."
Major General Thompson glanced from the turret cameras to the H.E.V. station. Surely enough, the hazard suits were being tracked in the vicinity of the dead turrets. The scientists within the suits were better than he had expected. He chided himself for underestimating them. It was no matter, though, as he had several redundant backup plans for dealing with the hazard suits.
"Sergeant, make sure the troops on the surface are ready. The hazard suits are headed their way."
Sector D – High Security Materials Storage Area
The group had followed signs throughout the warehouse leading towards the freight elevators that would take them to the surface. They encountered more turrets and trip mines throughout the facility, but had little trouble in bypassing them. They were determined to let nothing stop them now that they were so close to their goal. Salvation was just a few meters away.
The soldiers had drawn straws to determine who would stay behind to baby-sit the automated defenses. The unluckiest soldier in the bunch cursed as he wandered around the base of the freight elevator. Here he was, in the middle of an alien invasion, and he was stuck baby-sitting turrets and trip mines. He glanced at his watch and checked in with Central Command.
"This is Rodriguez, Sector D warehouse; this sector is secure, over."
"Negative, Rodriguez. We're tracking at least three hostiles headed your way. Prepare for engagement, over!"
Rodriguez glanced at the room around him. He could hear them coming. He raised his MP5 to cover the ramp leading up to the warehouse facility, his back to the freight elevator. He prepared to fire.
Bennett had overheard the radio chatter and raced ahead of the group excitedly. The military was here to rescue them!
He rounded a corner and began to run down the ramp towards the freight elevator, shouting at the troop waiting for him, "Oh, thank god! We're rescued at last!"
The next few seconds seemed to pass in slow motion. One moment Bennett was running happily towards the soldier, and the next he was stopped dead in his tracks, several expanding red blotches appearing on his chest and back. He was surprised to find that he felt more coldness than pain; the sudden exposure to air chilling his innards as the bullets punctured his chest and shook his body violently. Bennett's thoughts were rudely interrupted by a bullet puncturing his skull, emptying its contents onto the ramp behind him.
The rest of the group had arrived just in time to see the red fog settle over Bennett's body. It was clear what had happened, but all of them wondered why it had happened. The soldiers were supposed to be here to save them, not kill them!
They ducked back behind the cover of the hallway, and Gordon called down to the soldier.
"Don't shoot! We're scientists. We don't mean you any harm!"
"Bullshit!" the soldier shouted back, a grenade arcing through the air into the hallway.
Calhoun leaped forward, picked the grenade up and chucked it back along its path. It bounced once in front of the soldier and exploded as he ran for cover. The soldier was thrown through the air. He looked back and saw that his legs had been torn to shreds and his MP5 thrown aside from the blast. He pulled himself across the ground towards the elevator, but stopped at the telltale sound of a shotgun being cocked by his ear.
"You have some explaining to do." Gordon said in a menacing voice no one present had known he had in him.
"D-don't hurt me!"
"Why did you shoot him? What are you really doing here?"
"We're c-containing the contamination."
"By killing everyone associated with the project?"
"W-we're just…" the soldier coughed, blood gurgling in his throat as he choked the words out, "…following orders!"
The soldier's head fell back, the lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling.
"We can't go to the surface anymore," Rosenberg sighed, calm as ever. Could nothing faze him? "Unless you wish to end up like our former associate, that is."
"What can we do, then?" Gina demanded. "We could go back down to the cafeteria, but they aren't accomplishing anything. The only other way is up to the surface."
"No," Rosenberg corrected her. "There is another way. Hidden in this warehouse is an entrance to one of the oldest labs of the research facility. I can't explain it, exactly – it would take far too long – but there is technology within that lab that would help us escape Black Mesa for good."
"Do you care about anyone but yourself, Doctor?" Colette demanded. "Our friends are dying all around us; right in front of us! We have to help them. Running away and hiding is not an option!"
"You're a fool, Dr. Green. Your compassion will be the end of you. You can run to the surface and die if you wish, but I will not throw my life away so easily. You can come with me and escape, or die on your foolish crusade."
Gordon sat on a box, detached from the argument going on before him. The weight of the situation hit him all at once. This is all my fault, he knew. If he hadn't pushed that crystal into the analysis laser, none of this would have happened. Graham would still be alive. Bennett would still be alive. All of the countless other scientists and security guards who had died because of his mistake would still be here. Their deaths were on his conscience. He would never be able to wash their blood from his hands. There was only one thing he could do. He would fight with everything he had left; fight to save his friends and to clean up the mess he had created. He would die trying if he had to.
"I'm going to the surface," Gordon announced without emotion. "Who's going with me?"
Gina and Colette nodded in agreement. All eyes turned to Calhoun, who had been quiet up until this point.
"I uh…" Calhoun stammered. "I didn't sign on for this. I'm no soldier. If there's an easier way out of this place than going to the surface, I'm all for it."
Rosenberg smiled. "Strange, that the least educated among you would be the most logical and reasonable."
Calhoun took the near-insult in stride. "Doc, I'll help you out in any way I can if it helps get us the hell out of here."
Rosenberg nodded. "Good. I believe it's time that we went our separate ways, then. Gordon, Gina, Colette; I can only hope I'm wrong about your fates. Disagree as we might, we're on the same side here. Good luck."
"Good luck to you, too, Doctor," Gordon agreed, shaking Rosenberg's outstretched hand.
Calhoun too shook Gordon's hand, nodding a goodbye at Gina and Colette. Calhoun wondered if they would ever meet again. He hoped they would, under better circumstances.
The group parted ways. Gordon, Gina, and Colette boarded the freight elevator and waved a final goodbye to Rosenberg and Calhoun as the car rose. Rosenberg knew in the back of his mind that he would never see the trio alive again. It was a shame. He desperately could have used their help in activating the machine. However, Calhoun was more of a soldier than the three of them combined. He would be just the man to make the journey to Xen.
Black Mesa Surface
The freight elevator slowly rose towards the surface. The sounds of the desert could already be heard through the shaft. They could hear a helicopter hovering somewhere up above, as well. In hindsight, that should have been their first warning that something was amiss.
When the freight elevator reached the surface, the group realized instantly that they were in trouble. A line of soldiers waited for them, weapons drawn and aimed directly at them.
"Freeze!" a voice called out.
From the crowd of soldiers came several loud pops as projectiles flew through the air towards them. Before they could dodge them, the projectiles impacted the hazard suits, knocking the trio back into the freight elevator. Their suits erupted with electrical energy and they found themselves unable to move. The rotors that assisted their movement in the heavy suits froze as they were shorted out by power surges, effectively holding them in place.
The hazard suits had been taken down by NEMP rifles. Non-nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse weapons had been used for years by the police to disable vehicles in high speed chases. The military had developed their own version of the weapon that was significantly more powerful. The NEMP had been more than enough to disable the hazard suits.
The heavy hazard suits and their occupants were dragged out of the elevator and into the open air. Gordon, Gina, and Colette were powerless to resist as they were dragged through the expansive truck yard. They were propped up into a sitting position against a large metal trash bin. The soldiers left them there alone momentarily.
The truck yard was only lightly guarded. A few sentries were posted to the area, but they were few and far between. The military clearly didn't expect the hazard suits to be going anywhere anytime soon.
"Gordon, can you hear me?" a female voice echoed through a tiny speaker next to his ear.
"Yes, Gina?" Gordon asked, unable to turn his head to look at her.
"Shh!" Gina scolded, "They'll hear you! Use your suit's communicator. They have wholly independent power sources and weren't affected by the blast."
Gordon's fingers were thankfully free to move, and he made the proper motions to access the suit's HUD menu and activate the communicator. Anything he said would only be heard by Gina and Colette. The speaker wasn't loud enough to be heard by any casual observers.
"Better?" Gordon asked.
"Yes. Listen, Gordon. We're going to be okay. Our suits are more advanced than even you know. As we speak, our suits are repairing themselves. These suits are equipped with next-generation nanotechnology. In a few minutes, we'll be fully functional again. Until then, we need to play dead. Don't tell the soldiers anything! They can't hurt us through these suits, and they can't remove them without equipment buried in Sector C."
Colette spoke through her own communicator. "Someone's coming!"
Surely enough, an important looking figure stepped into the clearing, flanked by an entourage of advisors and military types. This man appeared to be in charge.
Sector D – High Security Materials Storage Area
Rosenberg led Calhoun deeper into the warehouse facility. Calhoun had never been cleared to enter this warehouse. It stored materials more classified than he would ever have access to see. Calhoun didn't particularly care to see what he had been missing, but he didn't like the feeling of not knowing where he was or where he was going.
Finally, Rosenberg seemed to find what he was looking for. It was a dead end; a hallway that led to a blank wall. Clearly, the architect or the contractor had made some mistake. Hallways weren't built unless they led somewhere. This hallway served no apparent purpose. Calhoun looked at Rosenberg oddly as he walked towards the blank wall. He didn't seem to care that there was nothing there.
Rosenberg paused for a moment, studying the wall. He began tapping different portions of the wall, muttering, "I know the button is around here somewhere…"
Calhoun approached the wall now. It was constructed of painted cinderblock. The bricks didn't line up properly with the other walls, suggesting that the wall had been added after the facility's original construction. Calhoun realized something must be hidden behind the wall.
Rosenberg continued probing the wall, looking for the button that would open the secret entrance. He was having no luck at all.
"Let me try, Doc." Calhoun suggested.
"How would you know— oh, I see." Rosenberg replied as he noticed a grenade in Calhoun's hands. Those things were coming in handy.
Rosenberg found cover as Calhoun chucked the grenade towards the wall. The plaster bricks exploded in a cloud of white dust, leaving behind a gaping hole in the wall, large enough for them to fit through.
"I must admit, Barney," Rosenberg gave a rare smile, "You're beginning to impress."
"I do what I can, Doc."
"I hope you have a few more tricks up your sleeve. We might need them, yet."
Calhoun wondered what that cryptic remark meant, but dismissed it for the moment.
Rosenberg led the way down the hidden hallway, which led rather anticlimactically to an old elevator shaft. They rode the rickety car down what felt like a long distance. The car groaned violently the entire trip, threatening to snap from its cables and fall at any moment. The elevator arrived without disaster, however, at the ground.
They stepped out of the elevator and approached a thick door on the opposite side of a small entryway. Rosenberg placed his handprint on a panel beside the door and waited as it confirmed his identity.
"Welcome back, Doctor Rosenberg," the door's mechanical voice announced.
The door slid open, revealing a cavernous room full of huge computers and strange-looking devices. Tremendous machines towered towards the ceiling, while others dangled from the ceiling towards the floor. Many scientists were present, checking gauges on the old machines and adjusting valves here and there. The place emitted an aura of importance that staggered Calhoun. Calhoun stared at the machinery around him, agape.
Rosenberg turned to Calhoun and smiled at his awkwardness.
"Welcome to the birthplace of Black Mesa, Mister Calhoun."
Sector D – Surface Truck Yard
Major General Thompson surveyed the three hazard suits and was satisfied that they posed no danger. Thompson was pleased with himself for having the foresight to bring the NEMP rifles along. At the time, he hadn't planned on using them, but his preparedness had paid off. Here were three scientists from Sector C. These were the ones responsible for this mess.
Thompson walked back and forth before the three hazard suits, pausing occasionally to stare into the reflective surface of the helmets. It was difficult to tell if there was really anyone within the suits, but he knew that they could hear him.
"Gordon Freeman, Gina Cross, and Colette Green. Yes, we know who you are. We also know what you have done. You three have single handedly brought this invasion upon us. For that, I should kill you right here. However, my orders are to keep you alive until you can be properly interrogated by our… government supervisor. Someone upstairs must be fond of you. If it was up to me, you'd be dead already."
Thompson appeared ready to go off into an angry rant, but one of his advisors ran to his side and spoke quietly. The sensitive aural sensors in the suit's helmet picked up the whispers and amplified them loudly enough to be heard.
"Sir, we've encountered heavy resistance around the Lambda Complex. Our troops have been unable to penetrate the automated defenses, and the scientists are using some experimental weapons. We don't stand a chance. Should I tell the men to pull back?"
"No. I'll go there myself. Get my Osprey ready to take off."
"Yes, sir."
Thompson turned back to the trio as the advisor ran off to carry out the General's instructions. "Well, it appears I have some urgent business to attend to. I trust you three won't be sneaking off while I'm gone."
The General chuckled as he walked away, the advisors resuming their flanking positions. A helicopter was parked not far away, and the entourage boarded it and flew off towards the Lambda Complex.
"Did you hear that, Gordon?" Colette asked through the communicator.
"Yes! Our friends are fighting back! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I think so. We need to get to the Lambda Complex and help."
"Yes," Gina agreed, "but the journey won't be easy. It's clear that the surface is controlled by the military. We'll have to get back underground and take a less direct route."
"Someone else is coming!" Colette announced.
Two soldiers walked towards them. One of them walked with an MP5 sub-machinegun swung over his shoulder, crowbar in hand, and the other walked with his combat shotgun drawn. The one with the crowbar went to work, trying to pry open Gordon's suit.
The soldiers chatted as if the three weren't even present.
"I killed me twelve dumbass scientists and not one of 'em fought back. This sucks."
"Tell me about it. What do you think of these three?"
"I hear they came from Ground Zero, where all this shit started. I wonder which one of them is responsible for this."
"We can ask them ourselves as soon as we get these suits opened up. What's this suit made of anyway? The crowbar isn't even denting it."
As the soldier worked the suits with the crowbar, the nanomachines within the suits hurried to complete their repairs. The shorts within the suit were almost fixed.
Gordon glared through his helmet at the soldier trying to open him up like a sardine can. He could do nothing but watch his futile efforts. Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed through the helmet. It belonged to neither Gina nor Colette. It was the suit itself speaking to him.
"Welcome to the H.E.V. Mach Four protective system, for use in hazardous environment conditions…"
The suit was back online! Gordon tested his arm and found that he could move freely. In an instant, he had grabbed the crowbar held by the soldier before him. A swift movement flipped the crowbar around, impacting the soldier's skull. He fell to the ground, bleeding from the forehead.
The other soldier couldn't believe what he was seeing. He acted quickly, firing a shotgun blast into Gordon's chest. Gordon was thrown backwards. Gina stood up and grabbed the butt of the shotgun, twirling it around and pushing it hard towards the soldier. The soldier's finger involuntarily depressed the trigger, sending a burst through his chest. The soldier fell to the ground, clutching his stomach and screaming in pain.
Gina and Colette raced to Gordon's side and helped him up. He was a little shaken, but otherwise unhurt. The suit had absorbed almost all of the force of the blast. The reactive armor hadn't even flinched at the point blank shotgun blast. Gordon picked up the shotgun from the dead trooper. Gina grabbed the MP5 and crowbar from the other body.
Shouts came from all around them as the previously lax soldiers realized the hazard suits were no longer incapacitated. MP5 fire came at them from all directions.
"We need to get out of here, before they use those rifles again!" Gordon shouted.
"There!" Colette replied, pointing towards a ventilation duct access grate across the truck yard.
The three scientists raced towards the duct, the soldiers hot on their trail. An unlucky soldier found himself stuck between the trio and the duct, firing his MP5 uselessly at the oncoming scientists. His bullets ricocheted off of their suits harmlessly. He was taken down by Gordon's shotgun and the MP5 was commandeered from his lifeless corpse by Colette. They were fully armed now.
They reached the duct, and Gordon used his mechanically augmented strength to open the grate as the two women dove in.
"Chivalry isn't dead, after all!" Gina said jokingly as she jumped.
Gordon made the jump himself just as the troops arrived at the grate, huffing and puffing.
The ventilation shaft they had fallen into was dark and cramped. They activated their suits' flash lights and saw that they had two possible directions to go. One duct seemed to lead back towards Sector D. The other led in the opposite direction, towards Sector E.
"We can get to the Lambda Complex through the Rocket Test Lab in Sector E. Let's get moving before the troops decide to come in after us."
They began crawling down the tiny ventilation duct.
"Fire in the hole!" a muffled voice shouted above them. The three scientists looked at each other in horror, and crawled for their lives.
A satchel charge fell from the grate into the ventilation shaft. Its explosion filled the duct and engulfed the hazard suits in white-hot flames. Their screams could barely be heard above the cacophony of burning oxygen and melting metal.