Chapter 6: A New Career

The room was small and dark, only a small lamp dangling from the ceiling provided a small amount of light. The lamp was only able to grasp the small wooden table and two chairs with its light. A small figure was slumped in one of the chairs, surrounded by darkness. She had no idea what was going to happen to her. Her mind told her she would be fine but a small voice from within her told her otherwise.

Kaitlyn had no idea what the Resistance was going to do to her. After finally realizing the true, evil nature of the Combine she envisioned the rebels as passionate freedom fighters. Her current state made her feel otherwise toward them. During her time in Ravenholm with Adrian and Yuri, she learned much about not only the Resistance and the Combine, but also herself. She had always viewed herself as a brave, strong-willed woman but while she was the rebels' prisoner her feelings about herself changed. She learned that she was vulnerable and at times needed the protection of others. She did not view herself as a damsel in distress, but as any other normal person. One who needs help from time to time.

Light flooded into the room as the old, rusty door squeaked open, blinding her. A silhouette appeared before her, its figure draped in shadow. The door closed behind the figure, the blinding light disappeared, revealing her visitor.

Before her stood a young woman; she stood at about 5'7, roughly the same height as herself, she had a mocha colored skin tone, short black hair held back by a head band, and large brown eyes. She was wearing brown hiking boots, blue jeans, a small gray hooded sweatshirt with a black symbol in its center slightly covered by an old, worn brown leather jacket. Around her neck was a small necklace with some sort of ordinary-looking stone in it. She sat down in the chair opposite Kaitlyn and gave her cold almost icy stare.

"Kaitlyn O'Rourke, I presume?" she said in a very feminine but hostile voice.

"Yes," she replied.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Excuse me," she said, confused by the question.

"What are you doing here?" she repeated the question in a more hostile manner, her squinting eyes shot her a deathly glare.

"I was captured by rebel soldiers at Civil Protection Station Alpha-Two in City-17," when the woman did not respond she continued, "I was taken to a vehicle and we were coming here when we were forced to go on foot through Ravenholm. A Father Grigori showed us the entrance to the base. That is when you picked us up: Me, Adrian, and Yuri."

"Why did our soldiers take you prisoner, Miss. O'Rourke?" the woman asked.

"I used to work as a secretary for an administrator at the station. A few months ago they made me an interrogator. I was questioning Adrian when you attacked. I was taken prisoner along with several other of my colleagues," Kaitlyn answered.

She woman across the table glared at her. Her gaze seemed to pierce right through her flesh and see into her mind. She could tell this woman obviously despised her; she did have every right to do so. Kaityln was a part of something slowly killing this world. Only now did she finally grasp the reality of it all. She had always heard rumors on the streets of the city about mass murders and abuse of the planet's resources at an alarming level but she had dismissed as nothing more than rebel lies. Now she realized that that they were all probably true.

"So," she woman finally answered, "how many have you tortured or killed?"

Kaitlyn was appalled by this question, she had never ordered anyone killed and only once did she have to order a soldier to beat a prisoner a few times.

"I've never killed or had anyone killed. I once had to have a man beaten but not badly."

"Bullshit," the woman snapped.

"It's true," Kaitlyn found herself shouting in anger, stunning the woman. She quickly regained her composure and continued, "Most prisoners go to Nova Prospekt, the other stations, or straight to the Citadel. The station I worked at was a police headquarters. We only hold detainees till the are to be moved elsewhere."

'Really?" the woman asked, fully recovered from the shock of Kaitlyn's outburst, "then why did your station have over thirty prisoners. The Combine is very punctual I'm told. Wouldn't the prisoners have already been moved 'elsewhere'," she said the last word coldly.

"We had just conducted several major raids. They were recently captured and going through processing," Kaitlyn responded just as coldly, trying to intimidate her captor.

The woman just stared at her as an evil smile crept onto her face, "Oh really, according to an informant you were going to interrogate Adrian Shepard. Wouldn't an important person such as himself be questioned be someone with more…authority," she said, smirking at her own last statement.

"What do you mean?" asked Kaitlyn.

"You do know Adrian was one of the marines who was at the Black Mesa incident?"

"Yes, I do," Kaitlyn responded, "what is so important about that?"

"Have you noticed anything strange about him?" the woman asked.

"No, not really."

"When he was at Black Mesa, he was twenty-one at the time. It's been twelve years since then. How old does he look now?" she asked queerly.

"About the same age," Kaitlyn answered. Then it hit her like a brick wall. Adrian did say he had not been around for all this, she did not know exactly what he meant but ideas were racing through her head.

"He did say he was not around for this when it began," Kaitlyn said warily.

"What do you think he meant by that?" asked the woman.

"I don't know," was all could say.

The doctor sat across from Adrian. He hoped this man was more of a scientist than an actual medical doctor. A doctor like that would only be in a room like this for one reason Adrian fearfully thought. After all, this man had been at Black Mesa and he no doubt blamed Adrian and his fellow marines for the death of many of his friends and colleagues.

"So, Shepard," the Dr. Vance said, "what are you doing in Eastern Europe? And why are you wearing that uniform?"

"Let me begin with what I do know, sir," Adrian began as Eli gave him a suspicious look, "this is the uniform of my unit, the 81st Hazardous Environment Combat Regiment. Uh, that's about it, that's all I know," he answered hesitantly.

"So, you were at Black Mesa, were you not Corporal?"

"Yes, I was," answered Adrian, "my company, Foxtrot, was the last unit to arrive. My chopper was hit and crash landed before I had received my orders."

Eli's eyes squinted in suspicion. I obviously did not believe Adrian. Many of his friends were gunned down by the troops at Black Mesa. His own wife, Azian, was executed along with several of her colleagues before Eli could reach her. He had managed to reach his young daughter, Alyx, the only thing he was able to get out of the disaster.

"You certainly heard rumors about your mission beforehand, I'm sure," Vance asked, no emotion present in his voice.
"There were many rumors going around. The most believable was that there was some sort of biological contamination and we were sent to help evacuate. We had been training for several weeks in urban and indoor combat, so someone must have seen something like the incident coming," Adrian sighed, then continued, "I guess a biological contamination rumor was somewhat true," he managed to let out a small, forced chuckle.

The doctor's eyes narrowed, revealing a face of hatred, "I guess so, Adrian. But tell me, were there any rumors about assassination, government cover-ups, or anything of the sorts?"

Adrian was shocked, what did this man mean, "No. There wasn't. Look Dr. Vance, I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing here. I didn't even no I was in Eastern Europe. I don't anything about this Combine or your resistance. All I know is that those things, those creatures from Black Mesa are all over the place," he said loudly, anger in his voice.

He managed to cool down as Eli looked upon him with surprise and pity. It was obvious he had believed Adrian.

"How long has it been since then? Since Black Mesa?" Adrian asked.

Eli hesitated for several long moments and then, with a low, sad voice said two words, "Twelve years."

The world came crashing down on Adrian. Twelve years. Twelve years of his life gone, stuck in that black void. He was thirty-two years old, yet still felt twenty. The whole world had changed Adrian thought. His friends were probably all gone, killed by the swarm of creatures from Black Mesa. He finally broke down. Tears poured from his eyes as he hid them in his hands.

Eli and Collins did nothing to disturb Adrian. It was clear this man was telling the truth. Eli did not want to hurt this man any further. Adrian had to have told the truth about Black Mesa, no cold blooded murderer would have the same sort of emotions as he had when his wife was killed.

"William," he said softly to Collins. He came up to Eli, leaning toward him. He whispered into his ear for several moments and then quickly left the room. Leaving Eli alone with this weeping marine.

Kaitlyn still sat there, motionless. Her hands bound behind the chair by the cold steel around her wrists. She just stared in to the eyes of her beautiful captor. Ironic, she thought, the interrogator becomes the one questioned. As for what had been asked, she could not answer. What did Adrian mean by not be around for all this? Did he mean the Combine takeover, the start of the resistance? And where did he go if he was he was not here. He must have been at Black Mesa because of the uniform he wore. He must've known about the alien creatures swarming throughout the world. More questions flooded her mind, as her interrogator remained quiet, seemingly waiting for someone. Did Adrian know of the portal storms, Earth's first encounter with the Combine, the Seven Hours' War, Breen's peace treaty?

The old, rusty door creaked opened as light flooded the room, blinding Kaitlyn. She saw a figure come in, whisper something into the interrogators hear and then leave. The woman looked up and stared at her prisoner.

"Miss O'Rourke," she said in a friendly tone, "it appears Adrian doesn't know what occurred after the Black Mesa incident. Do you know why?"

"No," she looked up warily, "no, I don't."

Adrian's bout of tears and sadness was fading, only a few inane whimpers escaped him. When it appeared he had finally recovered, Eli renewed his questioning.

"Adrian, can you tell me what happened when you reached Black Mesa. I need to know everything," he said assertively.

Adrian snorted, clearing his throat and then began his tale. He recounted his crash landing caused by a strange aircraft. His rescue by the facilities scientists and guards. The regiment's withdrawal without him. The aerial bombardments and the Black Ops assassins. His sighting of a man in a black and orange suit disappearing into a portal and his subsequent teleportation to an unknown, alien environment. His defusing of a nuclear weapon and its reactivation by a man in a blue suit. His showdown against a giant, lizard-snake type hybrid creature. His meeting with the man in the blue suit, the g-man. Black Mesa's destruction by a nuclear blast. Without telling Eli of the black void from fear of disbelief, he lied, saying he passed out and then awoke on the beach; not that that was very believable on its own. His capture by the Combine. His interrogation, rescue, Ravenholm, and finally reaching Black Mesa East. He included their capture of Kaitlyn and her apparent change of heart to the resistance.

Eli was fascinated by his tale. It took him well over an hour to finish. His first thought was to further question Kaitlyn about her allegiance. If she joined the resistance she would willingly provide them with important intelligence. Then he thought about the man in the blue suit, the g-man as Adrian called him. He had seen someone resembling Adrian's description at Black Mesa several times throughout the days leading up to the incident. Adrian's sudden disappearance and reappearance perplexed him. Where could he have gone? If he was in an induced coma for twelve years he could not have been in the superb shape as he was in now. What further confused him was that he still looked like a young man around the age of twenty-one. He did not carry the cares that burdened many people these days due to the alien infestation and Combine takeover. No, this man's eyes told a different story. One of confusion, pain, and sorrow.

He seemed to be telling the truth. He never twitched and blinked rapidly during his tale. What he had said was the truth. Adrian was obviously shaken about all of this and Eli thought it best to let him rest. Collins had just returned and stood against the wall behind Eli.

"Adrian," he said softly as the man looked up to him weakly, "William here will take you to a room. It is late and you are tired. Go and get some sleep. Answers will come in the morning." Adrian got up and followed Collins to his room. After he had gone, Eli got up and went to question Kaitlyn himself.

Bang bang bang.

Her interrogator got up and opened the iron door. The light emerged, turning the woman into nothing but a silhouette. Another figure appeared and approached her.

"Alyx," the unknown figure said to the woman, "I need to ask her some questions. Why don't you take a break, okay?"

"Sure, Dad," Kaitlyn heard her say. Her figure disappeared and the new one stepped forward, revealing himself. A tall old, black man with a metal prosthetic left leg stood before her.

"Hello, Kaitlyn," the man said in a deep but friendly voice, "I'm Dr. Eli Vance," followed by a kind smile.

"Tell me, what do you feel toward Adrian?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," she said, slightly perplexed, "he's nice but he seems lost, like he doesn't know where or when he is. It's like he doesn't fit in this world. Yet he seems to know much about it."

"What does he know?"

"Well, he doesn't know anything about the Combine or the resistance. We were both at least to finally see what the Combine truly is. However, he seems to know about these aliens. He was at Black Mesa but neither I or the Combine no where he until yesterday."

"Okay, thank you ma'am," he said kindly, "now let us proceed to your current allegiance. You did say you did not know what the Combine was truly like, and now you say you see for what they truly are. Adrian has expressed this belief as well. Tell me," the man's tone changed to a cold, calculating voice, "would you like to join us. Tell us all you know about the Combine, what they know about us, and so on and so forth?"

"What if I chose not to?"

"We would keep you prisoner and find out what you know in a different manner."

Her eyes widened in fear, thinking of what they would do to her. Eli say this and laughed.

"Oh no my dear," he said warmly, "I do not let torture occur here. I wish I could say the same for many of our other bases," he said the last sentence with a sense of regret.

It did not take her long to come to a choice, "Yes," she said, "I saw what they did to me, my family, their prisoners, and to the people of Ravenholm. I want to inflict the same pain on them," she said angrily, "I will join your cause."

Vance looked at her warily. She did not appear to be lying, but nonetheless, he would remain vigilant. She would be given a polygraph test, along with Adrian. But he believed her. Something in her voice told him so. He let a huge smile spread across his face.

"Excellent," Eli said cheerfully, "William," he called toward the door. The man who had led her and Adrian through the sewers came in the room.

"William here, will escort you to a room. Get some rest. In the morning you will o through a thorough background check and a polygraph test," Eli said. Collins came up to her, placed a large black sack over her head, blinding her and then helped lift her from the chair and guide her out the door. They took several turns and passed several checkpoints guarded by armed rebels. They finally came upon a small iron door. Collins lifted the latch and opened the thick, heavy door. He led her into a large, empty room full of enough beds to house over thirty men. He took the sack off her head and unlocked the cuffs binding her wrists and the ones Adrian had shot apart. She rubbed her chaffed wrists, trying to get the blood circulating again.

"This will be your new home for several days," Collins said, "as you can see it is empty and will remain so while you are here. Clothes will be brought to you in the morning, the ones you are wearing will be washed and returned if you like. There is a bathroom with showers in the back. I suggest you take a long, hot shower and then get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day," with that he left. When he closed the door, Kaitlyn heard it lock, sealing her in here.

There was a towel on one of the beds, so she decided to take a shower. She took off her heels and set them under the bed. The cold floor made her feet shiver. She then took off her jacket, blouse, skirt, and stockings. She finally lifted off her bra revealing nice, firm, supple breasts. Her panties followed soon afterward. She grabbed the towel and took the best shower of her life. After she had finished and dried off, she put her underwear back on and fell into a deep sleep in one if the beds.

She awoke to feeling of something grasping her body. Above her stood three masked figures. She was about to yell out when a long piece of duct tape was stuck over her mouth, muffling her scream. She was flipped onto her stomach as cold, steel handcuffs bound her wrists together. A black sack was placed over her head as she was lifted onto her feet and dragged out of the room.

Blinded by the sack, she had no idea where they were taking her. She would try to keep up at her own pace but her captors were going to fast. She could not sense any change in direction they took because she was still too tired to comprehend what was going on. She heard a door creak open and then she felt hands force her down into a chair. The room and cold metal chair were freezing. Wearing only her bra and panties did not help at all. She felt prying hands all over her body as several cold rubber feeling objects were placed on her arms and chest. A plastic mouth was placed over her right index finger and then the hands vanished. She heard some shuffling followed by the closing of a door. A hand lightly grasped her throat as it slowly lifted the sack covering her face. The hand stopped halfway up as it tore the tape from her mouth, letting the sack fall back down.

"Kaitlyn O'Rourke," a deep voice said, "we are going to ask you some questions. You will only answer 'yes' or 'no'. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she said fearfully.

"Good," the man said, "is your real name Kaitlyn O'Rourke?"

"Yes"

"Were you an interrogator for the Combine at any time?"

"Yes."

"Do you still support the Combine?"

"No."

"Do you wish to join the resistance?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe Adrian Shepard's story?"

"What," she said warily as her voice cracked in fear.
"Yes or no. Do you believe his story?"

"Yes."

"Why?" a different voice asked. It was deep and raspy.

"I don't know, I just do," she responded.

She heard footsteps stop before her, "Your feelings, see with them many of us can," the strange voice said. It seemed to gurgle at times as the person spoke. The person speaking sounded as if his throat were extremely dry or sore. He may have received a neck wound she thought, perhaps from fighting the Combine.

"We see what you think," the voice continued, "betray you, your thoughts. We can feel you." What did this person mean? How could they know what she thought about Adrian. She hardly knew what her feelings for him consisted of. She knew that he was a kind man, lost in a sea of troubles. Did they believe that she loved him? She had felt no such feelings for him. Only pity, sorrow, and happiness came to mind when she thought about or was near him.

She felt a hand grasp the top of her head, pulling the bag from her head. Before her stood a creature of unimaginable description. Its skin was a light brown with shades of beige on its lower body and hues of faded green spotting its body from the chest upwards. It slumped over, much like a hunchback with a long horizontal neck. Its arms had only three long fingers and its legs bent at two separate positions. Its upper knee was much like a human's but its lower knee was the exact opposite, slightly resembling the rear legs of a horse. In the center of its chest was a foot long arm with three fingers as well. The feet had no toes; it was just a stump with a large, pointed claw several inches long and thick. A large red eyeball with a small yellow pupil covered much of the creature's upper face. Slightly below the eye were large, protruding ears on each side; if that is what they could be called. Its mouth was under its face; small, sharp teeth hung from it.

What stood before her was a Vortigaunt an alien from the Xen, a planet under Combine control. According to rebel lore, the Vortigaunts had been freed when Gordon Freeman, the hero of Black Mesa, was teleported to their planet and destroyed the Nihilanth. Though Kaitlyn did not know if any of it was true. She was never told if these events were true or not. She was sure that several of her superiors knew the truth. Many vortigaunts were teleported to Earth during the portal storms. However, most of them joined humanity and the resistance against the Combine. Several were captured by the enemy and put to some form of work after interrogation. It was said that they could communicate telepathically, known as Vortessence. Perhaps that was why the creature had said to her just moments before.

"Greetings, Kaitlyn," the alien said, "my true name, beyond your speech. You may call myself John." A human stepped up behind the alien, John. He put the black bag over her head again, without gagging her. The attachments were removed from her body as she was lifted from the chair. She was led back through the complex to her cell. When they reached it her bounds were released and the sack removed from her head. She was barley able to see two men leave as the door was shut and latched. Although she had not been physically or sexually abused she fell weeping into her bed. Having her mind pried through and picked apart was a violation of any person. As her tears were soaked in by the soft, white pillow she slowly let sleep overcome her.

Eli Vance, William Collins, the Vortigaunt John, and an aging man dressed in a military uniform entered a small room. They each took a seat around a large circular table. Eli was the first to speak.

"It appears that Kaitlyn is telling the truth," the scientist said, "her polygraph test came out positive."

"See within she was by myself," said John, "truth comes from her mouth."

"I believe it would be best to allow her to join us. She must past a true test of allegiance of course," said Eli. His companions all nodded in agreement.

"But what of Shepard?" Collins asked.

"His polygraph test as well as John's vortessence proved he was telling the truth," said Eli, "but John did say that his mind seemed to be missing something. Regardless, I believe we should let him join us. What do you think General?"

The aging man in the military uniform finally spoke, "His case is different from the other survivors'. However, from what I gathered when I served with him, he should prove to be a great ally. He shall join us if he wishes," said General Theodore Crowe, former commander of the 81st Hazardous Environment Combat Regiment.