The security room looked a lot like the offices, with white metal tiles on the floor and walls, and a smooth white ceiling. It was slightly larger than any of the other offices, but it was still just an office originally. Now it had maps and radios and weapons piled high in every corner. There wasn't much room for more than 4 people, which made it awkward for the 6 of us who were there.
Alyx and I were standing next to a pair of the green-clad rebels who had helped take the ship in the first place, and I still didn't know who they were. Doctor Kleiner was at a map, marking a route across some two-dimensional cliffs to a box labeled 'Combine Prison', and I almost let out a groan. Despite the arrogance of the statement, I almost mentioned that after the Citadel, another Combine Encampment seemed more of a job for the other rebels. I kept my mouth shut, though, as I knew Doctor Kleiner had to have a reason for it.
Doctor Kleiner finished, putting a cap on the marker he was using, and turned around. "That's all, you can go." He said to the rebels, who left the room. Suddenly the office was much more spacious.
"Alyx, Gordon, we don't have much time to prepare, so I'll go quick. We were very lucky that the Vortigaunts were able to free Gordon from the grasp of our 'friend'", he said, turning to face us, "But like before he will break their hold on him as soon as he can, which I fear may not be far in the distance."
He turned back to the map before continuing. "This:" he said, pointing at the box "is the former HMP Cardiff, now a Combine Vortigaunt processing facility. Early on during the initial combine invasion, many of the Vortigaunts broke free, which caused the Combine to greatly tighten security. We're about to change that, though."
I looked to Alyx, on my left, who didn't seem to be paying attention. The two of them must have already gone over the plan.
"Our friends from City 32 are going to attack the prison en masse, and once they've begun you two are to make your way to the Combine suppression field emitter and destroy it. Until you do, any of the Vortigaunts in the complex who attempt to leave will suffer pain and eventually death."
He turned back to face us again, and I could easily make out the pink bags under his eyes. Hopefully we could take some pressure off of the Borealis with this attack, though if I knew the Combine at all, they were more concerned with those of us who had had a hand in the destruction of the City 17 Citadel then any other group for the moment.
"With the help of the previously imprisoned Vortigaunts, it may be possible to hold off our 'friend' indefinitely, and we can really take to the fight to the Combine." He made a fist at the end to express his point, but it wasn't needed. The thought of pushing the Combine from Earth, maybe even giving them a taste of their own medicine was exhilarating beyond the scope mere words could express.
Alyx picked up a Combine assault rifle from one of the weapon piles and tossed one to me. She picked up another then turned back as Doctor Kleiner finished the briefing.
"We've got a hovercraft. Its small and god forbid you run into any real resistance- well, you shouldn't. Once the City 32 Rebels have commenced their attack, most if not all of the patrols should return to the prison, giving you a chance to get through and shut down the field. The hovercraft is on the deck, but there won't be enough time to use the crane."
Alyx's head snapped back towards Doctor Kleiner, who looked as if he might fall asleep standing up.
"So we're just supposed to drive over and pray we land right-side up?" Alyx said, incredulously. Her face turned to worry as Doctor Kleiner nodded.
"The crane isn't fast enough, you'd be caught in between the Combine attacks. As long as you don't do anything to purposefully flip it, the hovercraft should keep itself upright."
Alyx was about to protest, but saw it was futile. There really was no other way, and we both knew Doctor Kleiner wouldn't put us in any unnecessary risk. Seeing Doctor Kleiner was finished, Barney stopped digging through the gun pile and began to leave.
"They should be giving up on the attack any minute now, so we don't have a lot of time. C'mon." he said, opening the door. Beads of sweat immediately began to form on his forehead as he entered the stifling hallway, reflecting the light from the room we had just left.
Barney lead Alyx and I to a seeming dead-end, before pushing a button on the wall- much like the one I had seen the Rebel push just before I had come on the ship. The wall made a few mechanical clicks and whirrs, and then slid to the side, where it fit perfectly in its groove.
We climbed up on to the deck, and made our slippery way to the back of the ship, our bodies disoriented by the sudden shift in temperature. At the ship's rear, Barney pulled a crowbar from his belt and pried open one of the container doors, and inside was a hovercraft. It looked vaguely like the frame of a two-seater airboat stuck on a flat balloon, with a plasma rifle mounted to the frame in front of the passenger seat. Before he turned to leave, Barney handed the crowbar to me and gave me a look I didn't need explained; 'Hold on to it.'
I began to climb onto the hovercraft, into the driver's seat but was surprised to find a body already occupying it.
"I'm driving this time, Gordon. Get on the gun." She said authoritatively, as if the fact that she had gotten into the driver's seat before me entitled me to follow her rule. I did as she told, though, as the ocean crossing might afford me a bit of rest if I didn't have to drive.
She slowly backed the craft out of the container and turned, steering us towards the edge of the deck. I felt that feeling I felt when D0g threw us into the citadel inside the van, just as the metal below us lurched, about to send us on a brief roller-coaster ride through the bowels of the Citadel.
Alyx drove quickly over the edge in hope of keeping the hovercraft upright. At every moment in the fall it felt like the slightest movement might cause our vehicle to flip over and drown us just below the Borealis- but thankfully, that didn't happen. With a soft 'fop' we hit the water, and immediately sped off into the night. The sting of the microscopic shards of ice cutting into my cheeks made it feel like we were flying at unfathomable speeds, when in reality we weren't making entirely good time at all. Luckily, the engine was right behind the seats, providing plenty of warmth. I fell asleep just as it started warming up, but my dreams were far from comforting.