NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: This is a closed RP, the only nations allowed to post here are: Unified Sith, Chronosia, Midlonia, Rinceweed & The Golden Simitar. If you want to join in, TG me, and I'll give you the OOC thread.

IC: "Gordon, you're dooming the rest of humanity, think about what your doing!"

Gordon Freeman grinned at Dr. Breen, Gravity Gun in hand. Turning it towards the Combine Portal Generator, he pressed the secondary trigger, and the energy orb that was once latched to the Gravity Gun, shot into the Combine Portal Generator. It hit the last stabiliser.

The Citadel shook violently as the Combine Portal Generator overloaded, unable to control the energy surging into the portal. With a bang, parts of the Generator blew away, and Dr. Breen's eyes went wide in horror.

"Oh s**t..."

Above him, the Generator lost all of it's power, and the lift shuddered, before going from underneath his feet. Crying out, he started to fall to the bottom.

"Gordon you did it!" Alyx said delightedly, running up and hugging Gordon. Gordon smiled, It was over...

Alyx broke away from Gordon.

"C'mon, we need to get out of here, we may still have some..."

A loud roar came from behind Gordon, and he turned...

...To see the Generator freeze mid-explosion. Raising an eyebrow, he looked to his left, to find Alyx frozen, shielding herself from the explosion.

He then heard a sinister laugh.

"Time, Missster Freemann?" a voice said from behind him.

Gordon whirled, to find the one thing he feared in front of him...

...The G-Man.



"What was that!?!"

Combine and rebels alike looked up at the Citadel. The Citadel shook slightly, and explosions rang from inside. Slowly, but surely, every story of the Citadel exploded.

The rebels began to cheer.

The Citadel groaned, unable to support it's own weight. It began to topple, before a blinding flash erupted from the top of the Citadel, followed by a loud roar.

Screams could be heard as Combine and rebel soldiers, unlucky enough to be near the Citadel, slowly vapourised.

As the remaining civilians, Combine, and rebels regained their vision, they saw debris being sucked into the spire of the Citadel. For a few moments, everyone watched in horror, until another flash erupted, from the spire of the Citadel.

For a few moments, nothing happend. The Citadel groaned again, and then began to fall, before a small thrum could be heard. The Citadel slowly cracked open, sending out beams of pure white light. For a few moments, everyone stood in wonder...

...And then, City 17 was then wiped off the face of the Earth by a massive space time explosion.

Hugh Blacker awoke suddenly, the cool air surrounding him and his poorly made bed.
What was it that had awoken him?
Then his room shook.
That was it! The shake...
What the hell was it?

Peering around his room Hugh wondered what could be causing such a movement of the earth, he peered out of his window, and saw the city in which he was trapped, the city of which he both loved and hated.
A strider thundered past, the ground rocking slightly beneath its feet.
Was that what had woken him?
No, he was to used to those lumbering beasts.
The rocking was much stronger..

He frowned and got out of bed, and grabbed himself a bottle of water.
Hugh filtered the tap water himself, rumour was that they had put some chemicals into trusty old H20 in order to break the human race.
Taking another sip he stood onto his balcony and peered down.
Whatever had happened had stirred up a hornets nest.
a couple of Civil Protection Unit APC's thundered by, in the same direction as the strider had gone.

He turned back into his "appartment" and sank into an old, musty chair, sipping his water.

He stayed awake long into the morning wondering what it was that had woken him, eventually he decided he would find out when "news" might break on the TV.

A cigarette fell from his lips as the Earth shook and quaked. Even here, in City 1, the impact of far away events was felt. He cowered, alone in the darkness, cradlijng his weapons; his salvation against the night, against the Combine.
He sighed; it was going to be a long day.
Shouldering his knife and shotgun, he made his way up, the ladder shuddering under his weight, headed for daylight. He paused in the tunnel, momentarily considering his options, and then he was off; crawling through the sludge and muck of the abandoned tunnels.
He knew a way into an abandoned warehouse; and from there he would gather some idea of what had happened. Somethign was definetly wrong...

IC: “You have once again, Misster Freeman, proved your worth to ussss. We would hsssss be most, appreciative if you would once again assissst us. Jussst sstep into the portal Misster Freeman, until the next time.”

As Gordan Freeman walked into the portal I continued myself towards the edge of city seventeen through "alternate" means. At the edge of the city in the distance the smooth lined structure of the Combine Citadel could be seen extending into the clouds of city 17. Turning towards the portal behind me, I felt the smooth warmth of the explosion upon my back, the city, the core of the rebellion now being thrown into a wall of fire. Giving a rare smile I adjusted my tie before I stepped into the portal.

With a high pitched wail of electrical sound and a brilliant flash of light I had arrived, entering the darkened room it was now time to consult with my associates. “Missster Freeman has sssuceeded, the citadel hasss been desstroyed. We can now hssssssss begin phasse two………………

Darren looked over the city from his room. He held a small glass filled with whiskey, taking a sip he adjusted his glasses. Things seemed to be getting worse for him, for this City and the Combine. Ever since the Combine Citadel was destroyed and Dr. Breen killed, everything had gone to shit.

Darren had ruled City 1 with an iron fist, ordering executions of anyone who spoke out against him or the Combine. He had personally executed nine people himself. His rule over the City had drawn much hate, and there were few people who supported him. His propoganda campain was a failure, the posters, the news on TV had failed to rally the people against the rebels, if anything it had swelled thier numbers.

When he had learned he had been given command over the whole Earth, he had felt a new surge of power go through him. Though this was short lived, the Combine forces on Earth were dwindling. Combine Perfect told him reenforcements were coming, but he feared they would be too late.

Darren drained his glass and dressed, he walked out of his room and headed into his office. Sagging into his chair he watched a Strider move through the streets.

Marcus emerged from the bowels of the world; pulling himself up from the dirty pipe and glancing about. Hands encased in learther fingerless gloves smoothed out his coat; he looked about him and ran a hand through long black hair, as he drifted into the shadows.
The warehouse shook slightly as a gunship streamed overhead; its destination inward towards the city....Change was on the wind; Marcus paused, sniffing, smiling.
He moved away from the warehouse and out into the streets; weapons concealed, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. The rebels were like the Combine; omni-present, and he would not yield to either of them, though he was intrigued. The opposing leaders, the Whitesun girl who led the rebels and the man who now ruled the Earth; he smirked. The girl was the only one he felt he could trust...And so; driven as he was by circumstance, by the increased Combine presence and the collapse of the central administration....He would seek out these 'freedom fighters'.

Peering out of his window Hugh saw a grubby man emerge from the warehouse and into the street, he frowned and stared down at him.
'What the...' he looked down on the figure, before making up his mind and calling down to him.
'Hey! you! you realise you're in a combine only street yeah?' He waved his bottle up and down the direction of the street, re-itterating his point.
'You're not supposed to be down there, get in the alleys quick before a strider spots you and blows this damn block to bits!' he looked over his shoulder, then back down.
'Get in through the damn front door instead, I'll let you in, just get off that damn street!' he disappeared from the balcony and jogged down the stairs.
Electrotool in hand he hit the Combine doorlock, it clicked, and he pushed the doors open.

'C'mon dammit! there's a patrol comming!'
The ground was already rocking under his feet slightly, a Strider was doing the rounds again...

Rolling his eyes, diving in through the open door; he scrambled to his feet; running a hand over his balmy brow.
"Thanks...But I can take care of myself" He sighed, leaning against a wall and drawing another cigarette from his pockets, quickly followed by a lighter.
"Who are you? And where, pray tell, does your allegience lie?"

He leant against the wall, covering the llambda symbol that was daubed there.
'Same question, you first.'
Hugh took another draught from his bottle of water, put yhis electrotool back into his pocket and waited for him to reply.
'But I think my alliegence is obvious, I save a human being from a friggen strider...'
He shrugged and tutted.
'And by the looks of it..' he motioned with the bottle to the man's clothes.
'You wouldn't have stood a chance against the bloody thing.'

"Really?" He pulled the sawn off out and grinned. "I would've went out fighting anyway. Names Marcus, I'm camped out below" He indicated down with a gesture of his fingers. "I'm trying to make my way; hiding from these bastards....Keeping a low profile, but fighting the system all the same. Guys gotta do his part...Now, I believe I asked you a question"

Hugh stared down the barrel of the shotgun.
'Huh, sawn off shotgun? That all?'
He smiled rather calmly
'Defence'
Two turrets slammed out of the roof and homed in on the unknown figure.
'You should learn not to walk into a kind person's house and not expect him to defend himself when he has a shotgun waved in his face, but as you asked a question...'
He stepped to the side, the lambda symbol clearly displayed on the wall.
'Rebel, the number two of the resistence based here at City 1.'
Several rapid footsteps thundered down the creaky stairs.
'Whoah? what th--'
The other figures blinked at the sight before them, their leader, standing between the turrets, and a strange looking man holding a shotgun.

'S'ok I got it.' He turned back to the figure.
'One request, one question.' he smiled
'One lower the toy gun, or I show you what real guns do.' he moitened to the turrets.
'Two, what's your name? I'm Hugh Blacker.' he put his hand behind his head and grinned.

Czzt...

COS-9586 in posistion, awaiting command.

COS-9586 crouched behind a badly boarded up window, Sniper Rifle in hand.

Czzt...

COS-9586, hold at your position, and set yourself up. Make sure your laser is as least noticeable as possible.

Czzt...

Roger that control, holding position

Turning a small knob on the side of the Sniper Rifle, COS-9586 watched as the blue targeting laser slowly faded into near nothingness. Satisfied, he reached into a pouch on his belt, and pulled out a clip. Slapping it in, COS-9586 ed the Sniper Rifle, and took aim just above the main door of the targeted building.

While he didn't necessarily agree with the way the Combine had decided to do this type of Op, he couldn't show it. If he did, he'd be terminated, like the many others who's neuro-circuitry had failed.

Sighing, he watched events unfold beneath him...

_________________________________________________________________

Czzt...

Code green protocol initiated. Initiating Phase 1...

Checking his Pistol over, COS-10945 grit his teeth. Behind him, two Combine APC's waited, full of troops. While he knew that this Op wasn't neccesarily a raid, the amount of manpower behind him didn't help show that fact. Satisfied, he 'okayed' the troops behind him, and walked up to the building in question. Behind him, a Strider walked past, ignoring the Combine troops.

A few minutes ago, a COS had reported that an unknown human had been wondering the streets. While this was a felony, the Combine wouldn't have cared. They'd have left the stupid person to the Strider. However, this man was armed. What was even stranger, though, was that the man had been allowed into the apartment block before him, even though curfew was in operation, and that the doors to all buildings should be locked.

However, the reports weren't confirmable. In fact, the primary reason they were here, was to inform the residents of this building about the lost of Dr. Breen and City 17, and to do a routine 'sift' of the area, in case any rebels were about. But they would need to look into the reports of an armed person roaming the streets, and now, residing in this building.

Grunting, COS-10945 holstered his pistol, and whipped out his Stun Baton. The troops behind him tensed, their last Op hadn't gone so well. Silently sighing, COS-10945 rapped on the door with his Stun Baton...

'Shit! Shit! it's Civil Protection... Defence away!' He turned back to the man, who still had his shotgun in his hand.
'Now you have two options, stay here or die at the hands of the combine, or come with us, quickly!'
Hugh didn't wait for an answer, he merely grabbed the man and turned and ran to the top of the stairs, the others had headed to the back of the building...
'Wait, Dan! Your turn to answer the cvil protection, looks like we'll be moving house this time, but try to get rid of them.'

Dan sighed and turned around and began to head down the
'Don't forget the activation word.'
'Yeah, yeah, you'll owe me a bottle of whiskey for this...'

Dan walked to the door and called through the glass.
'Um, hello? What do you fine men at Civil Protection need? Oh and my apologies for not being able to open the door, but umm, we can't? You have one of your Overwatch Suppression locks on...'
He tapped on the glass, pointing down, showing the object bolted over the door.

COS-10954 grinned. Thumbing the Stun Baton, he shoved it into the object bolted over the door. High voltage electricity shot through it, short circuiting the lock, and trashing it. Although, ever since the destruction of the primary Citadel, there had been reports of faulty locks...

"I apologise citizen, but some of our locks are malfunctioning, due to an...error. They should have been deactivated a moment ago."

COS-10954 holstered his Stun baton, and pulled his pistol out of it's holster. He aimed it at the window.

"Open the door slowly citizen, this is a routine 'sift'. You have five seconds to comply. If you fail to comply, you will be gunned down, and this building will be 'cleaned'."

Marcus turned to Dan before he left. "The Electro-tool." He hissed. "Overload them, give the bastards a good shock. God speed....Stranger" And in a second he was gone, bolting up the stairs with Hugh. "So, the big number 2 in the rebellion here....Whos the number 1, exactly? Can't see a man like you doing grunt work" He chuckled. "They break in, you gonna leave 'em to me, or you gonna stick to those nice little defence toys"

'Woah, easy guy... just lemmie get this door, for you...'
Dan pulled the door open very carefully and slowly, it got about six inches open before jamming.
'Ah shit, Do you think you could give it a kick? The damn thing has stuck.'
He tried pulling a tad harder, the door merely squealed in protest.
'Nope, definately stuck, we don't normally go out these days, bloody rebels everywhere, Darren said the rebels would kill us if they found us living in the city, and if we helped you good guys at Overwatch, we'd get some better food.'
Dan took a few careful steps away, his hands far above his head.
'Last armed guy we shopped in, Darren sent us a delicious fruit basket...'

I suppose that's compliance...

Suppressing the urge to shoot the citizen in the head, COS-10954 took two steps back.

"Citizen, stand back..."

With a strange-looking wave of his hand, a COS ran up to him. It pulled out something resembling a square grende, and handed it to him. The COS then stood well back.

COS-10954 slapped it onto the jammed door, pulled the pin out, and rolled to the right of the door.

Just after doing so, the object gave off a *beeeeeeeeep!*, and it exploded, blowing the door in...

Marcus turned to Dan before he left. "The Electro-tool." He hissed. "Overload them, give the bastards a good shock. God speed....Stranger" And in a second he was gone, bolting up the stairs with Hugh. "So, the big number 2 in the rebellion here....Whos the number 1, exactly? Can't see a man like you doing grunt work" He chuckled. "They break in, you gonna leave 'em to me, or you gonna stick to those nice little defence toys"

Hugh turned and looked at Marcus.
'Little from A, Little from B, we're getting the hell out of here, those "toys" are all over the damn building, overwatch has, oddly, never found them.'
Hugh stuck a small silver dot onto Marcus' clothes.
'That's a Rebel tracker, it also stops the turrets blowing you away when they see you.
'Hannah! Get to the roof, and check for snipers, make sure you blow the bastard away before he sees you!'
A blonde haired, light skinned woman nodded and headed for another set of stairs, the others turned another corridor. Hugh stopped.
'Look, go with the others, they'll get you out of here, I'm gunna stop and wait for Dan and Hannah, oh and don't worry, that way will be packed with some fun stuff for you to play with, Man hacks, gunships, shit load of CPU's
Harry, Bill, Jenny? Keep him safe, get to the train station and wait for us, ok?'

OOC: Just for note [i'm trusting you with my characters Chronosia :p ]

Harry:Half cast, brown haired, blue eyed, Pistol and rocket launcher
Bill: white, blonde haired, Green eyed, Overwatch pulse rifle, pistol, grenades.
Jenny: Black, Dark hair, Hazel eyes, Shotgun, Pistol.

Get them to the Underground train station around 2 city blocks away, sewers system, then wait for me and the other two to arrive.

Pausing for a moment as though enraged, he sighed and softened, relented. "Fine, but I'm nobodies puppet." He pulled out a knife and gave it to Hugh, smirking. "You survive; you give me it back. Have fun with it." He turned, pausing and looking back before heading after the other three.
"You sure we can trust him?" Harry whispered
"Like we have a choice" Bill muttered, turning to look back at Marcus who had lit yet another cigarette.
"We have our orders; now lets move out...We get him where hes meant to go."
And with that they were gone...Off and into the shadow.

Dan had stepped back behind the inner doorframe when the grenade went off.
He came slowly out again, hands high above his head.
'Hey! That's some pretty cool stuff there. Reckon if you find him here we'll get another bowl of fruit? I had an Orange from that, it was really delicious..'
Defence system 21: Key word "orange" spoken, activating
Targetting.
Firing.


In less than a second the pair of guns had slid from their hidden holdings in the roof, turned, identifyed the targets and opened fire, Dan merely turned and ran up the stairs, as fast as he could.

Hannah looked through the scopeflicking past the windows, nothing, nothing, nothing.... then it picked up on the thermal scope, ludicrously faint.
she settled on one of the boards just above where the light faintly came, the squeezed the trigger, she didn't stop to see wether her kill had been sucessfull or not, she ran instead.
Dan, Hugh and Hannah met on the same junction they were on minutes before, they turned down the same corridor the others had gone and ran.
Hugh shethed the knife in his pocket.

Harry pressed the keys rapidly on the lock, the wall slid open, showing a set of spiral stairs that lead down the rest of the building.
'C'mon!' he ran down, the other two following close behind him.
When they reached the bottom Harry jumped and seemed to disappear into the darkness, then a loud splash followed very soon after.

Slipping down into ominous void; he glanced about, feeling a wetness accompanying a splash as he slid into the tunnels. He was used to it; for too long sewers had been like a second home. He smiled lightly.
"So...." He moved forward, catching up with his erstwhile escorts. "My three musketeers, where we headed?"

'Underground train sta-'
'SSH! we need as much quiet as possible, we'll be killed if we don't stay quiet, so can it, understood?' Jenny interupted.
Bill merely nodded and carried on along the tunnel.

Voosh!

A bullet just scraped past COS-9586's helmet.

Cursing, he started firing randomly...

_________________________________________________________________

"ARGH!"

COS-10594 is down! Code Red Initiated! Deploying Gunships! ETA...two minutes! All units, attack!

Both APC's opened up, churning out twenty COS's each. A few were gunned down by the auto-turrets, before the mounted guns on top of the APC's opened fire, destroying them.

Troops poured into the building, taking out anything that moved. After a few minutes, only eigh troops remained. Patroling a junction, something caught a trooper's eye.

Keypad sighted, possible use, unknown

A COS ran up and attached a small chip to the keypad. After a couple of minutes, the chip fizzled, and the wall opened up, revealing some spiral stairs.

All units, move in, reinforcements have arrived. Streets are now off limits to civilians, and patrols are underway. Shoot anything not Combine.

Flashlights activated, the COS's descended into the darkness...

_________________________________________________________________


Sirens blared in the distance. Troops ran through the streers, while overhead, a few Gunships patrolled, picking off a couple of unlucky Civilains...

OOC: BTW, can each of you telegram me your email for MSN, or your AIM Screen name? If we can talk over instant chat, it'll make this RP go much smoother.

ooc: check your TGs :P

Marcus whirled; ducking low. Footsteps echoed in the blackness; someone was coming.
"Son of a..."
He raised his gun slightly as the rest tensed; readied to fight...
"Harry!" He cried "You have that rocket launcher; put it to use. Seal the bastards out. The rest of you head along the tunnel! I'll make sure they stay here. Me and Harry will be along in seconds, right as bloody rain"
Kneeling, readying himself; Harry flicked back the safety cover and pulled the trigger; aiming the rocket for the roof just above the stairwell. Time seemed to slow; the moments fading into hours...And hell was disgorged beneath the city.

OOC: Added you ages ago Midlonia, have you approved me yet?

Darren looked at an image of City 1. So far the city had been silent, but not for long. A sweep of an apartment block in the southwest corner of City 1 had revealed a sizable cache of weapons, and half a dozen rebels trying to make a break for it. He watched a live feed video of the Combine forces pulling boxes of weapons out of the building along with its occupants. Darren would not tolerate this kind of resistance against him. They would be an example…for all.

He spun in his chair and faced the cameras of the TV networks which he tightly controlled. Very quickly all across City 1, every TV suddenly switched to him, and waited for him to speak.

“My friends, for a long time there have been peace here in our city. We have been under protection of the Combine from the terrorist here in this world and we have done well. Now, the terrorist have come here…to our city to make war and strike terror into your hearts. I must warn you all here and now, I will not tolerate people aiding these vermin.”

Darren paused and pressed several buttons on a panel on his desk. Next to him a smaller version of the Combine herding the occupants of the apartment building away from it; everything was silent for several seconds till a loud rumbling could be heard. Three Combine tanks appeared on the screen, aiming their guns at the building, they opened up.

“Any building used to harbor the terrorist or their weapons will be completely leveled into the ground. And any persons within that building will be shot.”

The camera panned from the tanks blasting the building to the large mass of people; Darren could only guess there were some one hundred plus people there. A line of Combine infantry brought up their rifles, and fired. The civilians screamed as they were cut down.

“Let that be a warning to all.”

The camera was turned off; the message would be played the whole day until Darren saw it fit to take it off. The phone rang; he listened to what was happening. He cursed angrily under his breath.

“No one else but Combine on the streets for the next 72 hours; roads leading into the city are to be blocked, no one gets in or out without my permission. Anyone who tries to run is to be shot on sight. Find these rebels….kill them… I don’t want any prisoners, any citizens you see are considered hostile, and are to be killed. Am I clear?”

He got an okay from the commander of the City’s troops, more men were moving into the area of the recent engagement. He pulled up a massive overhead view of the city; he could see Combine tanks, APCs, and troops move and hold the bridges and roads that leave out of City 1.

These rebels will pay with their lives for what they have done.

Marcus whirled; ducking low. Footsteps echoed in the blackness; someone was coming.
"Son of a..."
He raised his gun slightly as the rest tensed; readied to fight...
"Harry!" He cried "You have that rocket launcher; put it to use. Seal the s out. The rest of you head along the tunnel! I'll make sure they stay here. Me and Harry will be along in seconds, right as y rain"
Kneeling, readying himself; Harry flicked back the safety cover and pulled the trigger; aiming the rocket for the roof just above the stairwell. Time seemed to slow; the moments fading into hours...And hell was disgorged beneath the city.

"Urgh..."

Two soldiers were crushed by the roof.

"Heavy Demo kits required!"

Three soldiers descended to the bottom. After securing the kits, they opened up a keypad, and hit a few keys. Pulling out the activation pins, the soldiers scattered. Moments later, the packs blew up...

...And large chunks of rubble flew outwards, towards Marcus and Harry...

"Vae Bloody Victus!" Marcus screamed as he hit the ground, debris covering him as he opened fire, unloading both barrels before he pulled backwards, reloading...
"Come on!" He yelled, as Harry withdrew, slightly slower; opening fire with his pistol.
"Go on! Get to the rendevouz point!" Harry yelled; slamming another magazine into place; pulling back the hammer, and opening fire once again.
two more shotgun blasts echoed out, as Combine fire raked the corridor.
"Fine...But hurry" And with that, Marcus ran further down the tunnel, following what he thought would be the path of the others

Move in!

As soon as the debris had cleared, the Combine moved through, opening fire.

Message from Darren himself: Spare no-one!

Acknowledged.

A few went down in the gunfight, from a few shotgun shells here, and a headshot from Harry's pistol there. However, Marcus scurried away. Ignoring him, they focused their fire on Harry...

With a hiss and blast of light everything seemed to slow down. Bullets froze in the air, explosions paused and all the combine troops seemed to stick into the concrete. Just above Harry a man, tall and thin seemed to appear from no where. Behind him the ominous glow of a portal could be seen. Moving up almost touching the railing the man in the suit looked down. Wreckage from the past explosion was still caught in mid air and sparks were flying all frozen in time.

“I have been watching you, yesss I have hssssss been watching you very carefully. Perhapsss you would like to essscape from your current.” The man still hidden by the darkness of the tunnel turned towards the combine troops swarming after Harry. “From your current predicament.” Another snap and burst of light emanated from behind Harry. “Jusst sstep into the portal and you will be sssafe.” Turning the hidden man turned and stepped into his own portal. With a small gust of wind all evidence that he had ever been there had vanished. Time began to accelerate and Harry only had a few seconds to decide whether or not to stop into the portal.

OOC: Portal takes you to meeting place

Marcus had come back; he couldn't let it happen, couldn't leave Harry to die. He moved, dodging bullets, feeling them graze his skin; making him cry out as he leapt forward; unloading both barrels at the Combine. He felt the heat of metal in his skin, he felt the cold water beneath, and lunging towards Harry....He touched something...And suddenly he felt as though he wasn't where he should be anymore, disconnected....Disorientated, he was afraid to open his eyes.

"Approaching Drop Zone."

COS-9344 tensed his muscles, his standard issue Pulse Rifle in his hands. He had been lucky enough for him and his squad to be issued with Energy Orbs for the OSIPR, 3 each, although COS-9344 has managed to get his hand on a pair of extra ones.

"Landing now. Move out!"

The rumbling of the dropship stopped, and only a slight humming noise was left as the dropship floated a few feet off the ground. A thin line of sunlight appeared at the top of COS-9344's vision, before expanding downards until the entire front of the pod had opened up, allowing him to jump out of the dropship, which he and his squad immediately did, before a scene of chaos was presented to their Bio-Technologically enhanced eyes.

An entire house seemed to have turned into a minature warzone, with the door blasted off the hinges, bullet holes all over the front of the house, with more visibile inside the house through the now shattered windows, large chunks of masonry blown away by shotguns.

"There is a hidden passage being used by the rebels. Standard Overwatch have already went down it, and are currently clearing it out. Assist them."

Ignoring the damage now, he and his team moved into the house, heading straight for the passage, weapons at the ready.

OOC: Hey guys. Sorry for my absence, but I went to a Blink 182 concert last night (w00t!). I'll be posting soon, but due to RL problems, and the fact that I can only RP using characters effectively, I'm going to start playing as characters. Like the Commander of SOU-7, or Admin Darren's assistant.

OOC: Hey guys. Sorry for my absence, but I went to a Blink 182 concert last night (w00t!). I'll be posting soon, but due to RL problems, and the fact that I can only RP using characters effectively, I'm going to start playing as characters. Like the Commander of SOU-7, or Admin Darren's assistant.

"Blink 182, crappy since 1992" :P

A beautiful young woman in a low shirt and tight fitting trousers walked down the grey metallic scar that was City 1. Her name was Merian. Looking over at some Combine Soldiers, she smiled, and walked on.

It was a good day.

She continued walking for another hour, until she reached the Citadel walls. Two guards stood in front of the predatory wall. One approached her, Submachine gun aimed at her.

"Citizen, you cannot..."

Merian, with a flick of her hand, produced a badge.

"9273456" she said.

The soldier stood rigid for a moment, before nodding. The two soldiers moved aside, and Merian walked towards the wall. As she got within a foot of it, the wall lifted it tooth-like supports, raising just above her head, and then dropping as she went past...

Merian was Darren's right hand, and a very special Combine...

Darren watched as Merian entered the Citadel. His right hand, the only one Darren trusted in these hard times. He turned and smiled as she walked through the massive double doors into his office. He smiled at her.

"Merian, I am surprised to even made it. How is everything going down on the streets?"

Merian smiled back.

"Things go well. Troops are maintaining their patrols, workers are hastening their duties, and only a few civilians have been shot for walking on the streets,"

She paused for a second, before producing a pad with another mysterious flick on her hand.

"Here I've got detailed reports off every Commander on the streets, along with today's items. Do you wish to hear the items, or shall I leave the pad with you and be on my way?" she asked.

Darren shook his head.

"You can read the items Merian, my eyes are sore from all the papers and reports I have read."

Merian was about to read when Darren stopped her.

"Just....is there any word of reenforcements in that pad of paper?"