P
Pegcrab
Guest
Well, this is the first time I have ever written this sort of thing, it was kinda spontaneos, but I thought it was allright so I decided it to post it anyways. And this is it, there wont be any continuations or anything.
Hope you enjoy:
The portal storms were getting worse.
The countryside was already completely overrun with the Xen monsters. It had reached a point where the only way to travel through the country side was in heavily armed groups, and even then your safety depended mostly on the mood of the predators on the road. People were forced to live in heavily dense cities, guarded by highly trained military personnel, just to survive. Food was hard to come by, since no major agricultural growths were possible. Humanity's future looked pretty bleak.
Then, the Combine came.
Huge drop ships filled the sky over Prague. Sirens blared as the local military and police tried to understand what was going on. Panic spread like wildfire in the streets. The drop ships slowly lowered down to the pavement, synchronized. All seemed to be quiet as the whole city waited in anticipation. They had never seen aircraft like these, what could possibly be waiting for them inside. The drop ships ramp fell open with a loud clang. White mist from inside the drop ship mixed with dust rising from where the ramp fell. It seemed now that even the very city held its breath. Just when it seemed that no one could wait any longer, the Striders came out of the drop ships. The silence was broken as the military, which had set up a perimeter around each drop ship, began to attack the striders. The striders seemed quite weak at first sight - they were round creatures with long legs that stood about twelve feel high. What was lethal about them, though, was the plasma cannons connected to their belly. They vaporized the infantry, obliterated the armor, and demolished any building in their path. It all seemed hopeless. Behind the Striders the alien infantry poured out. They wore gas mask and spoke in muffled voices, and pursued fleeing human infantry mercilessly.
Sergeant Brian Henry ran for his life. He had just witnessed his entire squad get wiped out by the Striders. He heard the whine of a plasma cannon and watched the building to his right explode. A large piece of debris narrowly missed his head and shattered on the street next to him. He didn't even know why he was running; it wasn't like he could escape them. Another plasma burst ionized the air next to his ear and exploded the street in front of him. He was thrown back by the strength of the blast and hit the ground hard. He began getting up when a gloved hand grabbed his shoulder.
"This is unit 1138, I got one"
Brian stared into the lifeless lenses of the gas mask his assailant wore. Brian reached for his rifle and swore when he found only air in it's place. It must have fallen while he was running. In the meantime, more gas mask wearing infantry came to reinforce their comrade. There was no way out of this for Brian.
Brian's' opponent pulled out a baton and held it above his shoulder. He hit a switch on the hilt and the baton began to glow with electrical energy. It sizzled menacingly for a second, then the baton came down. It hit Brian on his cheek and spun his whole body around. He could feel the teeth on the right side of his mouth, where the baton hit, shatter. He collapsed onto the ground and began to twitch as the electrical shock from the baton began to take effect. Black spots began to appear in his field of vision and it was getting harder and harder to breath. At last, Brian's body shook one last time, and he drifted into unconsciousness.
**************************************************
Brian opened his eyes. The cot he was laying on felt uncomfortably, the ceiling he was staring at was unfamiliar, and his head felt like it was going to explode. The first thought that drifted into Brian's head was "How much did I drink last night?", until the events that brought him to where he was came back to him. He checked the right side of his mouth with his tongue to check how many teeth were broken by the soldiers baton. One had been cracked, but was still there, and an additional two had fallen out. Brian groaned and sat up. He was in a large metallic cell, with no windows and small niches on the wall to Brian's right that suggested that it may service as a door. In front of him stood a man in a black uniform. Brian couldn't focus his eyes enough to get a good look at the man's face.
"Good morning Brian, how are you feeling?"
"Wha....?"
"Oh, where are my manners? I'm the Recruiter."
"Recruiter? For what?"
"The Combine - The largest interstellar empire in the universe. You sir have been given the honor of protecting this mighty empire from the barbaric humans that infest this planet."
"Oh, will I? Sorry man, I rather like humans."
"Oh, you poor, poor creature. Your training begins tommorow, good bye."
The Recruiter pulled out a small, black remote and hit a large button in the center. An electric shot went through Brian's body. His vision blurred and he drifted into unconsciousness.
**************************************************
The next day, Brian and a group of 5 other prisoners were forced to sit through hours and hours of propoganda, which consisted of Dr. Breen, the administrator of the near-by City 14, ranting on and on about how bad the human race is and praising the Combine as the saviours of the human race. There were two guards at the exit of the room, and one which stood next to the screen, constantly watching the faces of the prisoners. If one was to show any sign that he was not paying attention to the propoganda, the guard would beat him and drag him out of the room. That prisoner would never be seen again.
The water tasted wierd. It gave Brian headaches.
**************************************************
Brian lost track of the days that passed since he was captured. He started looking up to the Combine, lusting for the day where he would put on the Civil Protection uniform and leave his insticts, the weakness built into the very genetic code of the human race, behind him. He dreamt of getting a chance to right the wrongs of evolution, to steer humanity towards the salvation that the Combine Overlord promised.
**************************************************
Soon he began forgetting his past. He couldn't remember his name, where he was or what he was before, all he had on his mind was the glory of the Combine. On the day he forgot everything, he was given a new designation, from now on he was Unit #220589. After recieving the designation, two Combine guards took him to an operating room. They lay him down on a table. A trap door in the ceiling above opened to reveal a large cylindrical robot connected to the ceiling by a large robotic arm. The robot's many pincers snapped open and close, while dozens of little saws spun around in a hypnotic pattern.
The operation was lenghtly and painful, but that didn't bother Brian at all. He was getting the cyborg implants that would allow him to rise to level of a Civil Protection unit, now he could serve the Combine empire! This was the most glorious moment of his life, finally he could rise above those filthy humans and be one with the Combine! When the robot began cutting open his head to place in the brain implants, Brain lost counciousness.
**************************************************
When he came too, the Recruter was standing in front of the operating table.
"Ah, #220589, I'm glad to see the operation was a success."
"Yes, sir."
"I bet you can't wait for you first assignment, #220589, but don't worry, after your body fully recovers from the operation, you will be able to begin service right away."
"It will be a great honor, sir."
"Indeed it will. I will be seeing you later."
As the Recruiter left, Brian sat up and looked himself in a mirror hanging on the far wall. He was a true Combine soldier now, gas mask and all. He looked around to check if anyone was looking and removed the mask. He looked at his face for a long time. His face was scarred now, beyond regonition. He didn't have a nose anymore, instead he had a mechanical apparatus covering that portion of his face. His eyes were also implants now. They looked like big black almond shaped marbles - like doll eyes. He smiled and placed the mask back on. Finally, his moment of glory had arrived.
**************************************************
The Recruiter stared at Brian through the one sided glass window on the other side of the wall, and smiled a congratulatory smile to himself. He straightened his tie and left to go see the other recruits.
Hope you enjoy:
The portal storms were getting worse.
The countryside was already completely overrun with the Xen monsters. It had reached a point where the only way to travel through the country side was in heavily armed groups, and even then your safety depended mostly on the mood of the predators on the road. People were forced to live in heavily dense cities, guarded by highly trained military personnel, just to survive. Food was hard to come by, since no major agricultural growths were possible. Humanity's future looked pretty bleak.
Then, the Combine came.
Huge drop ships filled the sky over Prague. Sirens blared as the local military and police tried to understand what was going on. Panic spread like wildfire in the streets. The drop ships slowly lowered down to the pavement, synchronized. All seemed to be quiet as the whole city waited in anticipation. They had never seen aircraft like these, what could possibly be waiting for them inside. The drop ships ramp fell open with a loud clang. White mist from inside the drop ship mixed with dust rising from where the ramp fell. It seemed now that even the very city held its breath. Just when it seemed that no one could wait any longer, the Striders came out of the drop ships. The silence was broken as the military, which had set up a perimeter around each drop ship, began to attack the striders. The striders seemed quite weak at first sight - they were round creatures with long legs that stood about twelve feel high. What was lethal about them, though, was the plasma cannons connected to their belly. They vaporized the infantry, obliterated the armor, and demolished any building in their path. It all seemed hopeless. Behind the Striders the alien infantry poured out. They wore gas mask and spoke in muffled voices, and pursued fleeing human infantry mercilessly.
Sergeant Brian Henry ran for his life. He had just witnessed his entire squad get wiped out by the Striders. He heard the whine of a plasma cannon and watched the building to his right explode. A large piece of debris narrowly missed his head and shattered on the street next to him. He didn't even know why he was running; it wasn't like he could escape them. Another plasma burst ionized the air next to his ear and exploded the street in front of him. He was thrown back by the strength of the blast and hit the ground hard. He began getting up when a gloved hand grabbed his shoulder.
"This is unit 1138, I got one"
Brian stared into the lifeless lenses of the gas mask his assailant wore. Brian reached for his rifle and swore when he found only air in it's place. It must have fallen while he was running. In the meantime, more gas mask wearing infantry came to reinforce their comrade. There was no way out of this for Brian.
Brian's' opponent pulled out a baton and held it above his shoulder. He hit a switch on the hilt and the baton began to glow with electrical energy. It sizzled menacingly for a second, then the baton came down. It hit Brian on his cheek and spun his whole body around. He could feel the teeth on the right side of his mouth, where the baton hit, shatter. He collapsed onto the ground and began to twitch as the electrical shock from the baton began to take effect. Black spots began to appear in his field of vision and it was getting harder and harder to breath. At last, Brian's body shook one last time, and he drifted into unconsciousness.
**************************************************
Brian opened his eyes. The cot he was laying on felt uncomfortably, the ceiling he was staring at was unfamiliar, and his head felt like it was going to explode. The first thought that drifted into Brian's head was "How much did I drink last night?", until the events that brought him to where he was came back to him. He checked the right side of his mouth with his tongue to check how many teeth were broken by the soldiers baton. One had been cracked, but was still there, and an additional two had fallen out. Brian groaned and sat up. He was in a large metallic cell, with no windows and small niches on the wall to Brian's right that suggested that it may service as a door. In front of him stood a man in a black uniform. Brian couldn't focus his eyes enough to get a good look at the man's face.
"Good morning Brian, how are you feeling?"
"Wha....?"
"Oh, where are my manners? I'm the Recruiter."
"Recruiter? For what?"
"The Combine - The largest interstellar empire in the universe. You sir have been given the honor of protecting this mighty empire from the barbaric humans that infest this planet."
"Oh, will I? Sorry man, I rather like humans."
"Oh, you poor, poor creature. Your training begins tommorow, good bye."
The Recruiter pulled out a small, black remote and hit a large button in the center. An electric shot went through Brian's body. His vision blurred and he drifted into unconsciousness.
**************************************************
The next day, Brian and a group of 5 other prisoners were forced to sit through hours and hours of propoganda, which consisted of Dr. Breen, the administrator of the near-by City 14, ranting on and on about how bad the human race is and praising the Combine as the saviours of the human race. There were two guards at the exit of the room, and one which stood next to the screen, constantly watching the faces of the prisoners. If one was to show any sign that he was not paying attention to the propoganda, the guard would beat him and drag him out of the room. That prisoner would never be seen again.
The water tasted wierd. It gave Brian headaches.
**************************************************
Brian lost track of the days that passed since he was captured. He started looking up to the Combine, lusting for the day where he would put on the Civil Protection uniform and leave his insticts, the weakness built into the very genetic code of the human race, behind him. He dreamt of getting a chance to right the wrongs of evolution, to steer humanity towards the salvation that the Combine Overlord promised.
**************************************************
Soon he began forgetting his past. He couldn't remember his name, where he was or what he was before, all he had on his mind was the glory of the Combine. On the day he forgot everything, he was given a new designation, from now on he was Unit #220589. After recieving the designation, two Combine guards took him to an operating room. They lay him down on a table. A trap door in the ceiling above opened to reveal a large cylindrical robot connected to the ceiling by a large robotic arm. The robot's many pincers snapped open and close, while dozens of little saws spun around in a hypnotic pattern.
The operation was lenghtly and painful, but that didn't bother Brian at all. He was getting the cyborg implants that would allow him to rise to level of a Civil Protection unit, now he could serve the Combine empire! This was the most glorious moment of his life, finally he could rise above those filthy humans and be one with the Combine! When the robot began cutting open his head to place in the brain implants, Brain lost counciousness.
**************************************************
When he came too, the Recruter was standing in front of the operating table.
"Ah, #220589, I'm glad to see the operation was a success."
"Yes, sir."
"I bet you can't wait for you first assignment, #220589, but don't worry, after your body fully recovers from the operation, you will be able to begin service right away."
"It will be a great honor, sir."
"Indeed it will. I will be seeing you later."
As the Recruiter left, Brian sat up and looked himself in a mirror hanging on the far wall. He was a true Combine soldier now, gas mask and all. He looked around to check if anyone was looking and removed the mask. He looked at his face for a long time. His face was scarred now, beyond regonition. He didn't have a nose anymore, instead he had a mechanical apparatus covering that portion of his face. His eyes were also implants now. They looked like big black almond shaped marbles - like doll eyes. He smiled and placed the mask back on. Finally, his moment of glory had arrived.
**************************************************
The Recruiter stared at Brian through the one sided glass window on the other side of the wall, and smiled a congratulatory smile to himself. He straightened his tie and left to go see the other recruits.
. I'm abit doubtful how he accept his fate so quickly, I mean, he was fighting for the resistance and suddenly he's captured and decides to fight together with his former enemies.
