The skies of Earth had remained clear since the War, save perhaps for operating Combine aircraft patrolling around the outskirts of City-17. A squadron of three of the Combine's infamous Synth Gunships flew low over a patch of forest considered off-limits for the normal citizen. One of the last few green areas left in the outskirts that was still under Combine control, the forest housed a small outpost, currently watched by a pair of Rebel scouts…
The metal walls that surrounded the outpost had Combine soldiers who donned the standard Overwatch armor set of blue and grey, urban combat camouflage. The blue eyeholes of their gas masks scanned the surrounding treeline, while another held his gaze locked on the sky itself with contempt.
Behind one of the bushes, however, not so easy to spot without thermals, a young woman surveyed the Combine position with a pair of low-power binoculars. She was wearing the standard Rebel uniform, formed of a beanie, the bulletproof vest she got off a Civil Protection unit, a blue shirt, jeans, sneakers and, on her right bicep, the metal plate with the Lambda emblem and beside her, she had a modified HK MP7 SMG…
"Got anything?" One of the others with her, a man in his 40s with an AK and similar uniform, asked.
"Just soldiers holding patrol patterns, as usual… Except for one of the fuckers." She noted, lowering the binos and looking toward her comrade. "He's been staring up at the sky for some reason or other…"
He shrugged "Think they're expecting a supply drop? Things have been getting hectic the last few hours, with new aircraft and everything..."
She tapped her chin, then let out a tsk and said "No… It's like he's tracking something." before wrapping her fingers around the grip of her SMG and flicking the safety to off. Turning to her comrade, she asked "Think we should head back?"
"Mmm… Probably." He mused. He checked the ammo in his mag, then said "We should take the long way back this time, though. I have a feeling gunfire will attract some unwanted attention, what with the new influx of air power."
She snorted as she stood up beside him, in better cover "Afraid of a few more headcrabs, old man?"
"More concerned over becoming a Zombie, to be honest…" He shrugged as he took the lead, SMG safety off. The weapon had been modified with a holographic sight and an underslung 20mm Grenade Launcher… Which's grenades carried a surprisingly powerful payload for their size.
"Fair." She smirked, then looked up at the sky as she heard a deep roar coming from overhead. With a gasp and look of surprise, she got her comrade's attention. He, too, turned to look at the sky as a streak of fire passed through the upper atmosphere, descending at terminal speed toward another area of the park… Two Combine Gunships, as well as a Drop Ship, seemed to have gotten the impact area targeted…
"Shit…" The girl murmured
"That's a meteorite… I thought they had some sorta defenses against anything in orbit…" The old man mused… "We should go…"
"Yeah, go check it out… If the Combine want whatever that is, we do too." She answered, checking her own mags. Three mags out of five. Two were expended on the way over.
"No, I mean-" He started to protest, but she immediately started running… He rolled his eyes "And… She's off…"
He tailed behind her, calling out in a whisper "Hey! Hey!"
"What?" She whispered back, looking back to him.
He shrugged then 'suggested' with a sarcastic tone and a frown "Shouldn't we call for reinforcements before we commit ourselves to taking on a Combine strike team and its air support?!"
"We'll be fine… We're just going to look." She returned. He sighed in defeat, continuing to follow his younger comrade deeper into the forest, past shrub and tree and into a more rocky area. An explosion, or, perhaps the impact of whatever had entered low orbit, rumbled, echoing all the way to where they were.
"... Ya sure?" Old Man quipped, a quirked left brow showing a bit of smugness.
Squinting at him, his partner in crime shook her head and stepped off ahead. Travelling through a narrowing path, past trees and rocks, they followed the smoke clouds rising from the crash site. Reaching the edge of the treeline, they saw the Combine Gunships overhead, circling the area…
The strange object had crashed in the center of the park, right into the old fountain. The statue that was once on the middle pillar had shattered upon the strange skyborne object coming into contact with it at terminal velocity and said object looked to have stopped right at the edge of the massive hole that was once the park's lake.
Patrolling the surroundings was three squads. Two Civil Protection units, citizens that had willingly joined the Combine War Machine, now wearing the black uniforms and white gas masks that represented this sign of oppression. They were holding the surrounding area and were only armed with stun batons and USP Match pistols… Easy kills… If it wasn't 30 of them.
Around the actual crash site, however, were Overwatch soldiers… Of varying shapes and sizes, too. From Combine heavies to troopers and Sergeants. Toting MP7s, Shotguns and the famed AR-2 Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifles, or simply AR2s as known to most, they watched over the crashed object.
The girl pulled out her binoculars and looked through them, zooming as close as she could. The crater was smouldering still, with the column of smoke probably visible as far back as Third Street. She narrowed her eyes, focusing more on the object itself… A pile of green and black metal…
"What the…?" She murmured.
"What?" Old Man asked, readying his SMG.
She lowered her binos and said, with eyes wide as saucers "It's still in one piece… And it is not an it… It's a he… I think…"
He rolled his eyes, taking the binocs from the girl and saying "You're bullshitting…" Before gazing down the binoculars himself. His jaw dropped "Holy shit… It's actually a man… Or a… Robot? D'you think the Combine sent in bots?"
"I dunno, Old Man… I dunno." She seemed uneasy, holding close her weapon of choice… "Wait… The hell are the Combine doing?"
"Huh?" He looked through the magnification device in his hand, watching as one of the Troopers descended toward the crashed object… Human… Whatever… A flash of gunfire, the echo of a single SMG shot and the soldier's body flung high into the sky came to the pair of Resistance members within half a second. The soldier landed, letting out a groan as his back broke…
And the gigantic, seven-foot-tall crash survivor stood to his feet. Combine soldiers, dumbfound, surrounded him, weapons trained on his head. He had, on his back, a weapon of his own, as well as on his thigh armor…
The armor itself was incredible. Bulky, metallic and military in design. It looked utilitarian, rugged, tough, but also comfortable. The battle-damaged, military armor fit the form of the humanoid titan within it well.
"Holy shit…" Murmured the girl, smiling. "He just tossed that Trooper like he was nothing…"
"Yeah…" The Old Man lowered his binoculars…
And then, gunfire again. The Combine opened up with every weapon in their arsenal. Bullets pinged off plating, pulse rounds flared and vanished and what looked like a golden aura surrounded the armor itself. It almost looked like a holy set of armor with the gold, but the Resistance troops knew better than to believe in God nowadays… He wouldn't have left them to the Combine if he was around…
The armored soldier took cover, drawing his own weapon and firing. The first Overwatch Soldier fell with two bullet holes in his chest and one right between the eyes. The exchange of fire drew the attention of the Gunships overhead, which turned to engage the man with their pulse cannons.
"Shit… He needs help." The girl grinned, standing up and readying her firearm. She looked to her friend before he could protest and ordered "Well, to your feet, Old Man! Let's go!" before dashing forth. Her SMG chattered and the first rounds punched through the paper-thin armor of the Metrocop in her line of sight.
"Son of a bitch, Jess!" The man yelled from behind her. The thnk of the 20mm Grenade Launcher mount of the MP7 came to the girl and a trio of Metrocops were blasted apart by the grenade landing amid them. He went to her side, turning to fire at the others that converged while he chewed her out "The fuck is with you and rushing in the middle of combat?!"
Jess grinned, kicking a Combine soldier in the head and dumping half a mag into his stomach while he was on the ground, before answering "I like danger, Old Man!"
She saw two Soldiers flung toward their comrades and heard their voice-modded groans of pain as they landed, disarmed, beside the Metropolice unit. The titan behind them let loose a stream of bullets from his weapon, forcing those still alive and armed to take cover.
He took cover behind the wall of the fountain with the two Resistance members as the Gunships overhead raked their surroundings with Pulse Cannons. He reloaded his weapon, then looked to the two… Of which Jess seemed the most excited.
"Yo, Big guy…" She smiled ear to ear, showing pearly teeth. "Nice throws…"
He nodded, then pulled a fragmentation grenade from his belt, armed and threw it. It landed square between four Metrocops and blew, sending hot shrapnel into their backs and tearing armor, sinew and bone. Jess peeked overhead and fired her own weapon to assist, still smiling.
"Uh, hate to bother the meeting of heroes, Jess, but, we got a plan to get the hell out of dodge?" Old Man asked, before raising only his SMG and firing blind over cover "'Cause I'm down to one mag plus one on my belt and those Gunships are getting mighty close."
"Make a beeline for the Treeline?" Jess shrugged.
"Briliant…" The Old Man sighed, planting a palm on his face. With a deadpan look, he asked her "Anything non-suicidal? Because I wanna keep my life, thanks."
"Christ…" Jess shook her head as the Gunships swept overhead, pulse rounds striking awful close to them now… Before they flew over and turned to aim their payload at the trio of soldiers. The armored man looked to both of them, slung his rifle on his back, picked them up by their body armor and gave them a light toss over the edge of the fountain, running to join them.
As Jess landed, she grunted from the impact, quickly raising her SMG, dumping the full mag into an Overwatch soldier, sweeping upward thanks to the recoil and, thus, having the last round in her mag strike him in the forehead.
The gun clicked empty as she scurried backward and her back hit a rock as she tried to reload. She gazed up at a Metrocop that ran toward her, aiming his handgun… Then froze as the thought-policeman took a green-colored haymaker right to the side of the mask. She heard the man's skull crack under the weight of the Supersoldier's armored fist.
He spun in place once, before collapsing in a heap. The Supersoldier, meanwhile, came to her, grabbed her by the arm and hoisted her up to her feet, only to draw his own weapon. The Gunships flew in, guns blazing, overhead, as the trio started to run toward the Treeline.
"You know…" spoke the Old Man through the overexertion "I guess this isn't a bad plan after all."
"Told ya." She quipped. "Hey, big guy? You got a name?"
"For fuck's sake, Jess, can you keep the introductions until after we're outta here…?" The old man grunted as they ran "God dammit, I'm too old for this…"
The Gunships continued to tail them, their heavy cannons roaring, rounds striking the ground… The Treeline wasn't far away, allowing the trio to bound as fast as they could to it… But the enemy's fire was becoming more and more accurate…
The tall warrior looked to Old Man and watched as one sweep of the enemy's cannon got close and closer… He grabbed the man by the collar, threw him ahead and let the pulse rounds rake his armor. More specifically, the energy shield that flared and died after the third shot struck it.
Bounding again, the trio entered the treeline and went in as deep as they could. The wind gusts caused by the Gunships made leaves fall from the trees as they flew overhead and, far behind them, they could hear the chatter of Combine units… Far behind them…
Slowing down and coming to a full stop by an old, dilapidated stone wall, the two Resistance members started panting from exertion. Old Man leaned against the wall, while Jess sat herself down, leaning her head back into it… She smirked, then chuckled… "Fuck… We made it…"
"Barely…" Old Man fell to one knee, putting his SMG down and leaning against the wall as he tugged at his collar "That was idiotic, Jess…" He berated the girl with what little strength he had… "Could've gotten all of us killed…"
"I didn't, though…" She said proudly, as if that was some kind of achievement. The tall armored guy turned around, keeping his eyes or… Orange visor… Peeled for the trailing Combine. Jess sighed, then mused "I think they lost us, big guy…"
"Wouldn't bet on it…" The man spoke for the first time since they met… His voice was deep, smooth, strong. Jess almost swooned, but instead started focusing not to blush. Exhaling to calm herself down, she stood up.
"So…" She started, leaning her SMG on her shoulder. "You do speak."
"Mhm." He nodded.
"You should probably tag along with us… Combine are gonna be pretty pissed you just took out half the squad coming to take you… Wherever they take people that fall from the sky." Jess nodded. "I'm Jessie, though most people call me Jess… That there's Talbot, though most of us youngsters call him Old Man."
"Yo." He waved and panted, then coughed and said "We should probably get outta here… They'll be sending more patrols."
"... Understood." The man noted…
"So…" Jessie started. "Name?"
"... Chief." He said. "Lead the way to your base…"
"Chief, huh…? We gotta ask first, Chief…" She quipped. "Outta courtesy… Even though you clearly dislike the Combine… Ya friendly to us? Because, trust me, the last thing humanity needs right now is another set of aliens kicking in our door and occupying us… Especially if your lot goes to war with the Combine."
"They're occupying you…? Earth?" Chief asked.
"Yup…" Talbot hummed. "All of humanity is pretty much under the Combine's thrall… What, you don't know this?"
"I don't know a lot about what's going on…" Chief noted, slinging his rifle on his back. "May need a refresher."
"Then you found the right people for it." Jess smiled. "I've been dodging the Combine since I was 15. Talbot since he was 30. We lived through the whole 7-Hour War and its aftermath. Now, c'mon. We can talk more when we're in the Sewers…"
… Sewers, huh? Great...
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, or 'Chief' as he was now called by his new allies, watched as they descended down into a tunnel in the pit that used to be the park's lake, through rusted grating, into a wet, damp environment. He'd need a lot of information if he was to understand what was going on, but going by Cortana's silence, she too was working to process current events.
Jess, the younger, more sprightly of the two soldiers, was in the lead, toting what looked like a 21st Century weapon modified to some extent to include a grenade launcher. Faint traces of red hair poked out from under the beanie she wore in place of a helmet. The tunnel they were in, an old reinforced concrete pipe, was lit, though poorly, by gas-burning lamps that were strung about every 5 feet.
It was a good thing he had Cortana around. If Jess, Talbot and their comrades, or those that attacked him-The Combine?-had computers, that would make things much easier for them. Ahead, to the right, was a broken section of the concrete pipe, through which rusted rebar stuck out, twisted in all sorts of manners. Jess was first to climb through, followed by Talbot and then Chief.
They entered a tunnel with wood supports, also lit by gas lamps that were attached to the support pillars. It was shorter than the pipe and probably didn't lead as far into wherever this was. Still, Chief wondered why the water within that lake was not there. It was clearly a park designed for recreation, with the lake being man-made. So why drain it?
The trio reached an armored door. Jess smirked and knocked thrice in a rhythm. The door's vision slit cover was pulled aside and a pair of brown eyes stared through. Surprise strewn across his face upon first sighting the Chief, the Rebel behind the door opened it and exclaimed "Holy shit, Jess! Where the hell did you two find a Robot?"
"Big guy over here helped us, Coleman." Jess smirked. "Threw a couple Combine so high in the sky, I think their alien mothers felt that too."
"Hahaha." The man laughed "Well, I'll be damned… Any friend of Jess's and Talbot's is a friend of this Cell. C'mon in, all of ya."
Stepping into the room, the Chief found a concrete installation that more-so resembled a Doomsday Bunker from old Earth stories relating to Nuclear Warfare. The walls were lined with what looked like rusty old bunk beds, shelves and guns and in another room, there were a series of early 21st century computers strewn about and working. Two more Rebels came out, a man and a woman.
"... Jesus, Jess, ya sure this guy ain't combine?" The woman murmured with an East-European accent to add. Her weapon of choice was an old, rusty rifle, made from wood and stamped steel. Going by the design, it was one of the many early assault rifles that influenced today's weapon design philosophy. An AK47 Assault Rifle…
"Yup. I mean, he hasn't killed us yet, has he?" Jess shrugged.
"Not exactly recomforting, pyrizhky." Her comrade answered, then approached the Chief, leaned her old rifle on her shoulder and said "I'm Sergeant Nadya Vassilievich, formerly Ukrainian Armed Forces and currently, Resistance. This is my Cell… You've already met Jess and Talbot, as well as Cole." She waved toward the three, who nodded, then she pointed back at the man now operating the computers "And that's Anton, our Radio operator."
"Yo!" Anton waved.
"So…" She looked up into the man's visor, her blue eyes clearly those of a soldier "Whom might you be?"
"He said we should call him Chief, Nadya." Jess answered for the Spartan.
"Ooh? Chief, huh?" The Ukrainian smirked. "I take it it's a rank, since your armor is clearly military."
The Spartan nodded.
"Well… Let's hear it." She urged him.
"Master Chief Petty Officer." John answered calmly. The Sergeant smiled, then brought a hand up to her forehead in a respectful salute.
"Privyet, MCPO. Welcome aboard." She quipped. "I take it you want some explanation to what is going on? Because we can easily explain if you'd join me in the op room. Everyone else, get some shut-eye… We'll probably be getting info from mr Vance about our next operation soon enough, so I want you all rested."
"Ma'am." The group nodded, before turning in for the day… Chief followed Nadya inside the Communication room, where the woman sat down next to the radioman and leaned her rifle against the table. She motioned to the Chief to take a seat, then realized the armor may just be a tad more than their wooden stools could take regarding weight.
"So…" She said, leaning forward as Chief used the wall for support. "You aren't from our world and you kill Combine. I'm going to be honest with you, Master Chief, but that seems a tad too convenient for me just to take it at face value."
"I understand." He nodded. It only made sense to question things, especially with these 'Combine' around.
"So don't mind me putting this question out there… Where are you really from? Did the American side of the Resistance manage to do something behind the Combine's back? Because I don't see that kind of armor coming out of Eastern Europe or even Central Europe. Africa even less so, because the last Cell there was wiped a year ago... "
"It's a long story." The Chief answered. He had to be pragmatic about answering questions right now. There was clear distrust for anything alien here due to what Chief had to assume was a decades-long occupation of Earth. And he wasn't sure where he was either. People from all walks of life and countries seemed present… So…
"..." The woman sighed "Right… Well, let me start with the beginning. At least try to build some kind of trust… The events that led up to the shitstorm you see around you, that of the Combine occupation of Earth and most of its city centers still intact, are the events of the Black Mesa Incident… I don't know the whole slew of details, but I can tell you some scientists fucked something up that caused the appearance of Portals to other dimensions, which spawned nightmarish creatures onto our world and, following them, the Combine came like a multidimensional wrecking ball…"
"I was part of the Fifth Battalion out of Kiev, deployed to defend my country when the first Synth popped up out of the Portal Storms. Big, three-legged spindly fucks called Striders came out first. One of our T90s managed to score a hit, but it was taken out by that fucking dick cannon the thing has. Then came the Gunships and their synthetic infantry..."
… Dick cannon. That's an image…
"Anyways…" She sighed, then shook her head and continued "The war against the Combine lasted only 7 fucking hours. They dismantled Earth's armies after spawning about everywhere on the planet thanks to the Portal Storms. 7 Hours and hundreds of millions mobilized, wiped out in an instant. The Russians and us were the last ones to drop our guns. Eastern pride and all that... And now? After some fucko from Black Mesa negotiated peace at the cost of freedom and became Administrator of Earth, mankind is slowly dying, they put some fucked thing called a Suppression Field up, which means we can't have kids at all, meaning genocide and… Well, you can see how the Resistance is currently fighting."
"... My God…" He heard Cortana mumble with shock.
The Sergeant looked to the Chief with determination in her tired eyes, then said "Be damn sure though… I'll die before I give up my planet to the freaks who enslaved us. Fuck anyone else who opposes it and anyone who says it's better to live on our knees than die on our feet. I'll be on my feet with my AK in hand and I'll damn well fucking die free and with a smile on my face."
… He couldn't help but nod in agreement. "That's respectable."
"Mhm." She smiled. "So, how about you, Chief? Your armor's got some battle damage… And it ain't bullets leaving scorch marks like that on what I can only assume is some sorta super-alloy… Fight something similar to the Combine in your world?"
"Yeah. Though we're more spread out and an actual military." He offered his answer calmly. "In my world, mankind got to the stars before we met aliens. Earth is our core, our homeworld and we went through a war of attrition against an Alien alliance that burned our worlds. Put anyone from where I am in your position and I don't think they'd choose differently, myself included."
The Sergeant's smile widened "Then you're a friend of ours, Chief. Feel free to share in our meager food supplies and tell us more about your world, because, fuck me, it sounds like the paradise we all long toward when this whole Combine war is over. Until it's over, though… We may need all the help we get." she extended her hand toward him. "Any chance someone like you would care to help?"
… He'd sworn to defend mankind from all enemies, within and without, when he was in training. If anything, this was just a new War to fight and a new part of humanity to save… He nodded, then gripped her hand firmly and shook it.
"Laskavo Prosymo, Master Chief. Welcome to the Resistance." Nadya's smile was ear to ear and her eyes were filled with hope once again. She turned to Anton and said "Keep us posted, Anton. I wanna know when Eli calls, so we can report the good news, tak?"
"Da, Sergeant." The Radio Operator nodded.
"And you, Chief… I'd suggest you go get some rest yourself. I have a feeling I know what our next objective is and I want everyone at their best when we go for it tomorrow." The woman offered. John nodded, then he tilted his head toward the door separating them from the outside world and drew his own rifle from his back. She smirked "Alright… If you consider guard duty resting, be our guest." and stretched, yawning "I should probably get some rest too…"
The two gave each-other nods and went their separate ways, with the Spartan going by the door and leaning against the metal support pillar that held up the concrete roof of the hideout. Anton, a 26-year-old man who'd also seen the Combine's crimes against mankind firsthand, looked to the Spartan with renewed vigor. Buzz-cut black hair and dark green eyes, facial hair in the form of a five o'clock shadow and some minor scars.
Going by the man's shirt, he was formerly Russian Military… A dark-green camo shirt, unbuttoned and bearing the symbol of the FSB, the Russian intelligence and counterintelligence agency. Above the symbol of the FSB was a faded blue shield emblem with an A and a knife through said A, as well cyrillic, clearly Russian writing above that.
"FSB Alpha Team… That guy must've been something back in the day…" Cortana whistled.
"Good of you to finally talk." Chief spoke in a whisper, shutting off his helmet's external transmitters. "... What happened to us?"
"It's speculation at this point, but… I think the detonation of the HAVOK, combined with the Composer's own energy fluctuations while it was actively in use, caused a dimensional rift that sent us here… Sorry it took so long, but our teleportation had us travelling through some packets of data that I'm still decrypting right now and… I'm frankly not sure how to feel about them." She explained. "It's good to be alive, though…"
"... Mhm…"
Chief knew he'd lost Cortana's chip aboard the Didact's ship. He also knew Cortana had been inside the ship's systems when the detonation occurred. That spurred several questions, including 'what happened to her rampancy', 'how was she okay' and so on, so forth… For now, Chief wouldn't dare look a gift horse in the mouth and start questioning his partner… If she started showing signs of Rampancy again, he'd deal with it as it came. Humanity needed help now…
A lot of it.