"We lived outside of City 14 for about a year", Alyx explained, "conducting raiding missions on the Combine. After a while, Dr. Breen became uncomfortable."

---

Eli rubbed his temples in frustration. He was seated in a small conference room that held a long, wooden table. He looked across the table at the friends around him. Dr. Kliener, Dr. Mossman, Barney Calhoun and Captain Jacob Ralf were seated, starring at Eli for a reaction. Eli groaned.

"Are we sure?"

Captain Ralf spoke up.

"Yes, sir. The Combine are flying him to City 17."

Eli thought about throwing his chair against the wall in fury, but composed himself. The rebels had spent years following Dr. Breen and had finally caught up. Now, Breen was becoming nervous and was going to move to the safety of City 17. This was the last place Eli wanted to go. City 17 was home to the main Citadel, Nova Prospect and thousands of combine troops. It was a city of nightmares for the rebels.

After a long silence, Dr. Kliener spoke up.

"What do we do?"

Eli tilted his head back, giving out a long sigh. He had no idea what to do.

"Sir," Ralf asked, "We can still smuggle our way in."

Eli glared at the Captain.

"And then what?" Eli growled, "Just waltz into City 17 hoping that the cameras don't recognize us? They are already asking for our heads! They would kill us before we could even exit the station!"

Captain Ralf stood silent, amazed by Eli's anger. Judith Mossman rose from her chair.

"Is there any way we could just transfer over there in one of the captive ships?"

Dr. Kliener found interest in this idea.

"Yes." The balding scientist added, "We could take over the ship and sail it to the coast. While hiding in the woods, we could build . . ."

"No," Eli interrupted. "Its too risky."

"But Eli, It could . . ."

"I said no!" Eli shouted.

The room fell silent again.

"Okay." Captain Ralf uttered before exiting the room. Barney and Dr. Kliener followed suit. Judith stayed behind, watching Eli bury his face into his hands. Judith walked up and rested her hands on his back.

"Eli," she cooed softy, "We need to do this. If not, all of this, the rebellion, will be for waste."

Eli raised his head out of his hands, making eye contact with Mossman.

"I don't want to face anymore death."

Judith's face turned grave.

"We are already in death. We're just fighting for it to go away."

Eli now understood. He smiled at his fellow scientist.

"Okay."

---

Eli walked out from the conference room with determination etched in his features. He spotted Dr. Kliener, Captain Ralf and Barney walking down the hall. Eli called out to them, making the group turn to his direction.

"Captain Ralf," Eli instructed, "I want you to hand pick your best men. When we get on that boat, I want to take it flawlessly."

Ralf smiled. "Consider it done."

"Barney, I want you to find a CP's uniform. You are going under cover as soon as we get to the city."

Barney groaned, but nodded in agreement.

"Dr. Kliener with set you up in the Combine files as a transfer troop. As for you my old friend," Eli turned to Kliener, "Grab as much teleport equipment as you can. We're gonna need it when we get there. We leave tomorrow, so hurry."

---

19-year-old Alyx pinched her nose, trying to keep the rotten fish smell out of her nostrils. The sound of crying and radio chatter filled her ears. She stood next to her father, both of them wearing blue jumpsuits. The City 14 docks were lined with refugees. Each man, woman and child were being herded into big ships by Civil Patrolmen, where they would be transferred to different cities across the world. The ship that would transport Eli and the rebels was called the Slumbering Whale. It was a rusty ship that could carry more than three hundred citizens. Eli was taking two hundred of his own people, all of them disguised as ordinary refugees.

Eli walked up the plank to the ship's deck. Alyx followed. The elderly scientist looked down at the large crowd and spotted Dr. Kliener, Dr. Magnusson, Dr. Mossman and a number of other soldiers and scientists, each of them boarding the ship. All the passengers were moved to the cargo hold: an expansive metal room in the middle of the ship. The hold held a small platform above the floor, allowing guards to monitor the citizens below. After hours of waiting on board, the ship let out a loud horn and moved out to the open sea.

Eli sat down on a dirty blanket on the cargo hold floor, marveling at the massive crowd around him. Alyx sat next to him, fiddling with the necklace around her neck. Eli marveled at the little trinket. His wife had given it to Alyx when she was a baby. Now, his daughter, now a young woman, still kept it close. He reached over and grabbed her hand. She looked over, giving a small, nervous smile. Before Eli could speak words of comfort, Barney walked up, wearing a large, olive colored parka.

"It's time." Barney stated. Eli nodded. Barney looked over the crowd of people filling the room, raising his hand into the air. On command, fifty other men stood up, all wearing olive parkas with hoods covering their faces. They traveled to a set of doors guarded by two CPs with SMG's. One of them held out his glove towards the large group.

"STOP, CITIZENS." He called through his mask's speakers. "GO BACK TO YOUR SEATS."

Barney just smirked.

"Sorry, but I didn't get my bag of peanuts." He suddenly lashed out, slipping a long lead pipe from his parka. The pipe hit one of the guards in the head, sending blood out from the mask's small cracks. The second guard leveled his gun towards Barney, but was unable to pull the trigger in time. A second rebel swung a wooden bat, breaking the guard's left arm. He screamed out in pain. Barney hit him with the pipe again, causing the guard to crumple to the floor. In one swift motion, Barney swooped one of the SMGs off of the floor and fired at the two guards above them on the platform. The sound of gunfire was followed by two 'thumps' as two bodies hit the platform floor.

"Okay," Barney breathed. "That was the easy part."