Eli grew impatient. The team he had sent up was taking too long. 'What is going on up there?' he thought. As if on que, his personal radio crackled to life.

"Eli . . .shi. . . .Bre. . ."

"What? Copy again?" Eli shouted into the speaker.

"Dr. Breen . . .on. . .ship."

Eli's heart stopped. Somewhere behind him, He could hear Alyx gasp in shock. Ralf continued with his report on the radio.

"They must have . . .ricked us into thinking. . . reen was flying to City 17. . ."

Eli let out a small curse under his breath. This was certainly a surprise. A revelation hit him. If Breen was on this ship, then he would be easy to capture!

"Ralf!" Eli screamed into the speaker, "Get Breen!"

---

Captain Ralf heard the command and understood. This was something the rebels couldn't pass up: a chance at capturing Dr. Breen.

"Roger tha . . ." A bullet suddenly bounced off a nearby container, cutting his reply short. Ralf turned to see a Combine Overwatch point to their position, signaling his comrades to eradicate the rebels.

"Open fire!" Ralf commanded.

---

Eli looked up at the cargo hold's ceiling, hearing muffled gunfire.

"Oh, god no. Captain Ralf, can you hear me?"

No reply came. Alyx pulled her pistol out of her jacket, making sure it was fully loaded.

"Can you hear me?" Eli screamed.

---

'Mmm. This tea is delightful.'

The bronze liquid cascaded from the cup onto Dr. Breen's tongue, allowing him to have the ultimate pleasure on his taste buds. He was in his small room near the middle of the ship. Although, he was a little apprehensive of the condition of his lodgings, he adapted. The cabin held an oak desk, allowing him to feel right at home. The floor was carpeted with a deep red design and a liquor cabinet was placed for ultimate comfort. In the background, Mozart's "Sonata in A Major" is playing.

Breen was bout to take another sip out of his cup when the speaker on his desk turned on.

"Dr. Breen! You have . . ."

The COM went dead. Breen stood out of his chair. He then swiftly grabbed one of the remotes off of the desk and pressed a button, silencing the music. He could now hear the sound of guns over the crashing waves.

"Oh, no."

---

Alyx stood next to her father, listening to the fighting above. Eli was pacing the floor and shouting into his communication unit. She fidgeted with the cube necklace again, trying to think. Her fellow soldiers were up their dying and she was stuck down in the cargo hold. She couldn't leave. Eli wouldn't let her.

She could now hear explosions above. 'Grenades' she though. Eli's radio spoke again.

"Breen . . .on the move."

Alyx didn't even think. She bolted out of the room and into the hallway. She could hear her father screaming for her to come back, but she just ignored him and ran farther down the hallway until she reached the ladder. She climbed it and pushed up the hatch. Chaos flooded her vision. The rebel's were ducking behind cover near the front of the ship, trying to push towards the tower. The Combine were firing from above, using the tower to their advantage. It was now raining, making the whole situation ten times worse.

Alyx pulled herself onto the deck, making sure she was behind cover. She peeked over the box she was using for cover, trying to find a way past the Combine. After a few seconds of studying the battleground, she found an opening between both lines. She then got on her belly and crawled across the deck, staying behind containers.

After a few minutes of crawling, she reached her destination. About twenty feet in front of her was a bulkhead, leading towards the hull below. 'Just a quick sprint and . . ." before she could finish her plan, three Combine appeared from the door she was about to go for. They spotted her and leveled their weapons. She reacted, rolling to cover. The pulse rifle rounds bounced harmlessly off of the metal crate. Before Alyx could think, a grenade landed next to her feet, it's red light flashing. "Oh, no." she breathed. The grenade began to beep faster, signaling its inevitable blast. All Alyx could do was close her eyes.

The ship rolled, causing the grenade to roll as well . . .back to it's original owners. Alyx could hear the Combine scream before the grenade exploded, sending three bodies flying. Alyx peeked over the crate and couldn't help but smile. She then sprinted for the door. Before entering the door, she grabbed one of the portable radio's off of one of the dead Combine.

'I'm coming for you Breen.'

---