After my chat with Blake I couldn't bring myself to face him the next day as I walked across the parched grounds to the main office building, the most heavily fortified building on the campus. I was looking to talk to a recruitment officer there named Corporal Durgen who may be able to put me into service of the Resistance. As I walked up the steps to the large door that led into the main hall, an armed rebel stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
"What business do you have here?" he asked me sharply. I couldn't help but be slightly intimidated.
"I've come to talk to Corporal Durgen about joining the Resistance's armed forces," I said. The soldier looked at me funny.
"You might be a little young to be fighting actively, don't you think?" I gritted my teeth.
"I want to fight," I stated harshly, maybe even too harshly. The soldier chuckled.
"I can't let you see the Corporal on just that. Besides, he's not in right now. You can try again later, but you still may not get in," he said, shrugging. I frowned unhappily. I wanted to fight the Combine, but doing it without the Resistance backing me was a stupid idea. As I turned to leave I heard a gruff voice say,
"What's going on here? Who is this kid?" I saw that the voice belonged to a grumpy-looking man with bulging arms and a loosely kept goatee. There was the beginning of a white scar poking out of his shirt at the base of his neck, which I was sure went a good way down his chest. As he approached, the rebel blocking the door saluted.
"Corporal!" he shouted. I examined the man.
'So this is Corporal Durgen…' I thought. 'Impressive.'
"Who're you?" Durgen asked me, eyeing me down. I stood up straight, giving the best commanding air I could manage.
"Corporal, sir! I'm here because I wish to join the armed forces and fight with the Resistance!" I had hoped my proposal hadn't seemed ridiculous, but hopes are usually ill received. Durgan threw his head back and let out a guffaw.
"You? In the armed forces? Ha! Barley looks like your damn balls have dropped! Go home, kid. The force is not a place for children." I flushed red with anger at Durgen's response.
"I want to fight!" I growled at him. "I've done it before! Just tell me what to do or who to kill and I'll do it!" The Corporal sneered at me.
"From what I've heard, your experience in this field involved your little camp getting overrun by a Combine troop. Not very impressive, by my standards." I had to restrain myself in attacking the Corporal.
"Just tell me what to do and I'll do it," I repeated. Durgen smirked, but this time it was a thoughtful expression.
"Okay," he said. "Here. I want you to go out into the wastes and rescue as many people you can find. If you come across any Combine, kill them and take their badges as proof of your kill. Come back in a couple days alive and impress me with your job, then I'll let you join the armed forces." I narrowed my eyes at the Corporal. Something told me that he didn't expect me to come back. "Also," he added, "take this to the armory." He scribbled something onto a sheet of paper he pulled from his vest pocket. "This note will let you take some weapons from our stash and let you take one vehicle for transportation." He smiled at me again. "You leave tomorrow." I looked at the note for a moment, and then decided that this was the only way to do this.
"Alright," I said, grasping the note from him. "I'll do it." I saluted him again, but in a less serious and more mocking manner than before.
"Good day, Corporal," I said as I strutted past him.